


GroundFox Day

by CMA6725



Series: Of Men and Legends [6]
Category: Zorro (TV 1990), Zorro - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Post-Loop (Groundhog Day - All Media Types), Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 59,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29656251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMA6725/pseuds/CMA6725
Summary: Los Angeles went through a very bad day. Zorro is dead and so is the taverness he loved, Mendoza and several other people. Yet, Diego is alive the following morning and so is everyone else as he starts realizing the day is repeating itself. As he tries to change the day's outcome, more death inssues, until he stops and recognizes the loop he is trapped in for the opportunity it truly is. In the end, he'll need to find its true cause in order to fix things and let life continue its course.
Relationships: Victoria Escalante/Diego de la Vega
Series: Of Men and Legends [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177262
Kudos: 3





	1. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1

The tribe had lived on its land for many generations. It had been bigger once, but strange diseases came and killed many. Now, only forty-eight were left in total, most of them women and children.

They were not nomadic, as the other tribes of their nation were. Instead, it was well hidden in a valley, protected by the surrounding hills and the canyon beyond them, rich in everything they needed to live. From fish to deer and an abundance of small animals, fruits, acorns, nuts and all the medicinal plants, as well as a supply of fresh water that had never run dry, their land gave them all they needed.

Although they had once lived in contact with the other tribes, that all changed when she was still young, after the white man came to the territory, with their brown-robed men, their army and their settlers, called them Gabrielenos and claimed most of the land for themselves. That was when the elders of their tribe realized that contact with the new arrivals meant that the life they had always known would end. So they decided to keep mostly away from the newcomers -even cutting their ancient ties with the other tribes - and rely solely on themselves and on the land they were given.

They sometimes traded with the white man, when they needed tools and blankets. But they never shared the location of their tribe. It only existed on a deed one of their elders had received from the settlers, and which, while they still kept it, they disrespected it, for the land was nobody else's to give away, not even to them.

Loo-Soo had served as their medicine woman since her gift was discovered in her early childhood. Her mother had once seen her talk to the spirits and, from that day on, her tribe obeyed the messages she brought them, and trusted her to use her gifts to help them. The ancient ones didn't always talk to her, though, and they only answered when they were in the mood to do so. They were moody the spirits, and very easily insulted.

That morning, the old medicine woman watched the sun come up on the new day, then smiled as the people of her tribe went about their business. The women tended to the children, then each to her daily shores. The men prepared to go fishing, and the children ran around and played their games.

Then came the end. Their end. The end of everything she had ever known.

The white men charged in on horses, aiming first at the men and the women. Then they dismounted, took out their swords and killed everyone left alive, even the babies. By the time it was over, barely ten minutes after they appeared from behind the hills, only Loo-Soo was still alive.

They surrounded the old woman and she kneeled next to her eternal fire and started talking to the spirits, chanting in a strange language only she and her ancestors knew. When she eventually stopped, the sky was black, the assailants were gone, and before her proudly stood a black fox.

ZZZ

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, after an entire night of sleeping comfortably in his bed. With no bandits to chase and no wrongdoings by the Alcalde in almost a month, it seemed as if he was finally granted a chance to have a normal life. The kind of life that allows for one to go to sleep at a decent hour, wake up rested, sometime before noon, go about the day doing whatever one wants, consider a way to marry the woman one loves and, eventually, return to sleep again, in a comfortable bed, at a reasonable hour. The good times were finally there for him and he felt that soon he would be able to "retire" as Zorro and end the entire masquerade. Not that he wouldn't miss being Zorro…But Zorro had always been a means to an end and, if his mission was truly finished, Diego saw no reason to go on living a double life. The only problem was that his real personality was more like Zorro than Diego and the idea of keeping up the pretense, thus giving up his true self, was quite unbearable. On the other hand, he also knew that suddenly turning into the unmasked version of Zorro would only land him on the gallows.

"Trapped by the illusion I've created!" He murmured, as he woke up that morning, as if trying to conclude a strange dream.

Slowly, he got off his bed, checked what time it was, noticing it was barely six in the morning, put on one of his blue suits, a white shirt and a blue vest and headed for the kitchen to ask Maria for his breakfast to be served in the patio.

He drank his coffee and ate an omelet while reading one of the new books he had bought during his most recent visit to San Pedro. By the time his father and Felipe joined him, he had already read about half the book and finished his meal.

"Good morning, Diego!" His father greeted, still surprised to see his son up so early in the morning, despite it being a scene that tended to repeat itself for over three weeks.

"Good morning, Father!" Diego replied. "Do you, by any chance, know if Felipe is up, yet?"

"Felipe? Yes, I saw him heading towards the library. What is it with you two and your fascination for that room, Diego? If I didn't know better, I could swear the boy is actually your son!"

"He is my son, Father. I have adopted him." Diego reminded Don Alejandro, trying to switch the topic of the conversation away from the room where the access to the cave was located.

"It is not what I meant, Diego, but I do see your point. After all, you did raise the young man." Don Alejandro agreed.

"We both did, Father!" Diego replied and, noticing Felipe entering the courtyard, he poured him a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Felipe! Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Felipe signaled that he had had a nightmare, but he was ready for a new day.

"Is that one of your new books, Diego?" His father decided to let curiosity get the best of him.

"Yes" He answered. "Prometheus Unbound, by Shelly. It makes for an interesting read."

"It certainly has an interesting title." Don Alejandro remarked. "I saw you bought over 30 new books on your visit to the port yesterday. I must say, I was actually expecting you to stay up reading them for at least one month, but I am certainly glad to see you decided to do your reading in the morning."

"You never know, Father. I might just return to my old habits one of these days." Diego replied with a grin.

As Don Alejandro and Felipe were eating their breakfasts, the conversation lingered for a while on the topic of books, then re-focused on issues regarding work at the ranch. Around 9 am, Don Alejandro headed for his office, decided to catch up with some of the accounting, while the younger De la Vegas headed for Los Angeles to do some much-needed work for the next edition of The Guardian. Truth was that, since he had been gone the entire previous day, Diego was already missing Victoria, thus, working on the newspaper was but an perfect excuse to go to the pueblo. Felipe, in turn, went along because he was interested in the latest gossip people in the tavern would share around him, oblivious to the fact that he was able to hear them.

They went on horseback and entered the tavern to find Victoria still serving breakfast to her devoted patrons, among which the Alcalde and Sergeant Mendoza.

"Buenos dias, Senores!" She greeted them as they neared the bar.

"Good morning, Victoria!" Diego replied with a big smile, unable to completely disguise the love radiating from his eyes. "I hope you have prepared a lot of lemonade this morning, since it's already almost unbearably hot out there!"

"Pilar is just preparing a new jar, Diego." She answered. "Nice and fresh for my favorite customers!"

"I thought I was your favorite customer, Senorita Escalante." Sergeant Mendoza uttered from a table near the door, which he was sharing with the Alcalde.

"You certainly are my most faithful customer, Sergeant!" She replied with a charming smile. "Don Alejandro is not coming, Diego?" She asked, turning towards her favorite customer.

"No. He is catching up with some bookkeeping this morning." He replied, silently greeting the Alcalde and Mendoza, and heading with Felipe for a table next to theirs.

"You know, Don Diego," De Soto opened the conversation, just as Victoria brought the jar of fresh lemonade and two glasses "I always found that the best morning drink for true men is a nice glass of Port. Don't you agree, Sergeant?"

"Port is very nice, mi Alcalde!" Mendoza answered, more than happy to be consulted, and feeling certain he had the correct answer.

"To each his own, Alcalde!" Diego answered, unwilling to set himself up for another derogatory remark from his former colleague.

"That is true." Accepted De Soto. "After all, men do come in all shapes and sizes. You know, Diego, I am sure some fencing lessons from Sergeant Mendoza might go a long way to getting you started in the right direction and, since I am feeling rather generous, I might even throw in some lessons with myself. I understand you would be highly outclassed, but I will do my best to go easy on you! What do you say?"

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, Ignacio." Diego replied."The truth is I had no idea you were a master swordsman, since Zorro seems to always have so little trouble defeating you!"

"I try to be generous and you insist on spoiling my day by mentioning that... that... arch being, Diego!" De Soto replied, frustrated his plan of humiliating Diego had backfired. "Come on, Sergeant! We have work to do! Unlike others, we cannot afford to waste our time when there is an entire pueblo counting on us to defend it!"

"Have a good day, senores!" Diego wished them as they exited the tavern, before turning to smile at a grinning Felipe.

About an hour later, no longer able to find a good reason to prolong their stay in the tavern, Diego and Felipe left, directing themselves to the office of The Guardian, but returned for lunch a few hours later, before heading to the hacienda. Once there, Diego decided to visit Victoria as Zorro during the siesta. If not for any other reason, at least to remind her he loved her and, with some luck, steal a few kisses while at it.

He rode into town early, just as lunchtime was ending and, at approaching Los Angeles, he started hearing the distinct noise of gunshots and screams. He cautiously left Tornado on the outskirts of the pueblo and climbed on the roofs leading to the cuartel in an attempt to assess the situation. As he got there, he met a terrible sight: eight masked bandits had attacked the tavern and were now making their way out, taking Victoria and four of her customers as hostages, shouting for the lancers to stay away.

He was considering his options when one of De Soto's new men accidentally pressed the trigger and shot one of the armed men. The bandit received a mortal gun wound to his head but, dropping his pistol, it misfired right into Victoria's heart, killing her instantly. At that point, as Zorro was frenetically jumping from the roof, all caution forgotten, heading for Victoria's lifeless body, a carnage ensued, with the bandits shooting some of the other hostages, some of the lancers and ending up being shot themselves.

When it was all over and silence fell over the pueblo like sudden deafness, Zorro found himself holding the woman he loved, tears in his eyes and a bullet somewhere inside his chest. He didn't feel the bullet, though, and wouldn't have even realized it was there, had he not started feeling the distinct taste of blood in his mouth. Breathing was becoming hard, as well.

Mendoza and three of the lancers, as well as two of the other hostages were lying on the ground, eyes open, blood spilling out of their bodies. Two more hostages and several other lancers were wounded but still alive, screaming for help.

When the initial shock passed, De Soto and five of the remaining lancers surrounded the masked man, guns pointed at him. With nothing to lose, he kissed Victoria on her forehead and gathered his forces to stand up.

"You don't need to use it." He assured De Soto glancing at the gun in his hand. "I am quite sure that I am already dying, Ignacio." He added, lifting his right hand to his chest and watching the blood tainting his glove. "My father and Felipe don't know anything." He made sure to point out. "I always thought it was too dangerous a secret to share with anyone! Could you please send for them? I don't think I have much time left." He added, as the Alcalde watched him in confusion.

After he said that, Zorro lifted his right hand and took off his mask and his hat in one move, letting them fall to the ground, then followed their trajectory, as his feet were no longer strong enough to support him. He fell down next to Victoria, as Ignacio de Soto and the lancers were all watching in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening.

The plaza was filling with people, curious and disturbed at the scene before them, yet the Alcalde was unable to take his eyes off his nemesis.

"Diego?" He eventually asked in total disbelief.

Diego did not hear him, his eyes focused only on Victoria, breathing with difficulty, a strip of blood now dripping from his mouth.

"Send for the De la Vegas!" De Soto asked a lancer. "Bring them, now! And someone call Doctor Hernandez!" He continued to order, his voice shaking.

"Should we also bring Padre Benitez?" One of the lancers asked.

"He's not dying, Corporal!" He answered, completely in denial. "Bring the doctor!"

Doctor Hernandez arrived there ten minutes later and kneeled down to examine Diego.

"There's nothing I can do, son!" He uttered grief-stricken, after checking his chest wound, confused at the smile he received from his patient instead of a reply.

"You...you will just let him die?" De Soto questioned.

"It is out of my hands, Alcalde." The doctor answered him. "The bullet perforated his lung and he has already lost too much blood. I am not even sure how he is still alive."

De Soto took a deep breath, pondering on what he was supposed to do, unable to decide how to feel about both the reveal and Zorro's impending death. Diego's impending death. He silently corrected himself.

"Hold on, Diego!" He eventually decided to say, encouraging his former archenemy. "They are bringing your father and Felipe! Hold on till they get here!"

The lancer dispatched to return with the De la Vegas did not have the heart to tell the old don everything that had happened in the pueblo. He just mentioned that his son had been injured and that they needed to follow him right then, since there was no time to lose.

They arrived at the plaza less than half an hour after Zorro had been shot. The crowd gathered there parted the moment they dismounted their horses, giving way towards the brutal scene ahead.

By that time, Padre Benitez was finishing administering the last rites to the pueblo's hero, and, for a split second, Don Alejandro felt relieved it was not his son lying there, close to death, but Zorro. He felt sorry for him and his heart broke at seeing Victoria's lifeless body next to his, but he was also relieved since his son was no Zorro.

The moment lasted until he saw Felipe sprinting towards the man in black, kneeling by his side, taking his left hand in his, and resting his head on the man's chest, sobbing. He made his way cautiously, almost afraid to look at Zorro's face and praying it was not that of his son.

Then, reality struck and he fell on both knees at Diego's feet.

"What is this? Dios, what is this?" He asked, grief-stricken. "Son, you are not Zorro! You...You cannot be Zorro, and you cannot be dying, Diego! Please, son, do not die! Don't die, Diego!" He pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Father!" Diego murmured, barely audible, at looking at him. "Take care…of…each other!" He added, his left hand trying to squeeze that of his adopted son, seconds before a cough access devoured all his remaining energy, leaving him motionless, his eyes void.

The sound that came out of Don Alejandro at seeing his only son dead, the very last sound that reverberated through Diego's ears as his mind crumbled into eternal darkness, completely silenced the entire plaza, as if it was somehow capable of freezing time itself. The people stood still for minutes without end, Don Alejandro and Felipe sobbing, De Soto sitting on the ground, still not fully capable to digest the events, and the rest of the spectators rooted to the place where they were standing, unable and unwilling to disturb the men who were mourning.

ZZZ

As the night fell, the De la Vega household was in mourning. The pueblo was in mourning. Even Alcalde De Soto was in mourning.

After that day, in which he lost his sergeant, several of his citizens, including the taverness, yet, somehow, most upsetting of all, Diego, who turned out to be Zorro, De Soto locked himself in his office and drank away his pain, unable to clearly pinpoint its origin.

It was a really bad day for everyone, but Don Alejandro couldn't think of anyone else's pain, but his own. His son, the one he had once called a coward, turned out to be the pueblo's fearless hero. He knew now. He knew that the son he had known was only half of the real man. But it hardly mattered since he was never to meet that real son he had had.

Later, sometime in the night, when the tears stopped for a few moments, Don Alejandro kneeled. At the same time, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, a padre, a doctor, an drunk alcalde, the remaining lancers and all those who had known and loved the people who had lost their lives that fateful day, kneeled as well. Despite the distance between them, they prayed in unison, with the same Grace-inspired words, for God to perform a miracle.

And someone listened.


	2. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 2

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, after an entire night of sleeping comfortably in his bed. With no bandits to chase and no wrongdoings by the Alcalde in almost a month, it seemed as if he was finally granted a chance to have a normal life. The kind of life that allows...

"That was a… vivid nightmare!" He murmured, checking his chest in search of an invisible wound, wondering if he was really still alive. Thank God it was not real! I must have fallen asleep at siesta and was probably more tired than I had thought. He told himself.

He got off his bed and checked what time it was, surprised to see it was barely six in the morning. He went to his closet and, after considering putting on one of his blue suits, he settled for a green one instead. He then headed for the kitchen to ask Maria for his breakfast to be served in the patio.

He drank his coffee and ate an omelet while reading the second half of Prometheus Unbound, by Shelly. By the time his father and Felipe joined him, he was about to finish his book.

"Good morning, Diego!" His father greeted, still surprised to see his son up so early in the morning, despite it being a scene that tended to repeat itself for over three weeks.

"Good morning, Father!" Diego replied. "Do you, by any chance, know if Felipe is up, yet?" Didn't I asked the same thing yesterday? He wondered as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

"Felipe? Yes, I saw him heading towards the library. What is it with you two and your fascination for that room, Diego? If I didn't know better, I could swear the boy is actually your son!"

"He is my son, Father. I have adopted him. And may I point out that a clever remark is only clever the first time, while the second time is mere repetition?" Diego replied.

"You know what I meant, Diego. And I assure you that I am not yet old enough to repeat myself." Replied Don Alejandro, confused about the point his son was trying to make.

"If you say so, Father" Diego accepted with a smirk and, noticing his adopted son entering the courtyard, he instinctively poured him a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Felipe! Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Felipe signaled that he had had a nightmare but he was ready for a new day.

"Another nightmare? You seem to have them a lot lately." He concluded, sure that his son had told him about having a nightmare the morning before.

"Is that one of your new books, Diego?" His father decided to let curiosity get the best of him.

"The same I was reading yesterday, Father" He answered. "I have just finished it."

"Already? Have you slept at all, Diego, or have you been reading all night again?" Don Alejandro asked. "I saw you bought over 30 new books on your visit to the port, yesterday. Yet, I must admit I was expecting you to stay up later reading them for a while, so I am only surprised you woke up so early today. Or have you not slept at all, yet?"

"I did sleep, Father. And I did not bought it yesterday, but the day before." Diego replied with a smile.

"No!" Protested Don Alejandro. "I am quite sure we had spent that day together and you did not buy any books"

"Father, I believe I know when I bought them." Diego answered.

"So do I, Son! Yesterday, in San Pedro". Don Alejandro informed him.

"I distinctly remember having read the first half of this book yesterday, when I was waiting for you and Felipe to join me for breakfast," Diego told him, sure he was right.

"No, you were reading something else, Diego! A book with red covers". Don Alejandro insisted.

"The Conquer of Gaule, you mean? By Caesar? No, I am pretty sure that's what I was re-reading the day before". Diego replied, wondering why was his father so determined to contradict him.

Giving up, Don Alejandro focused on his breakfast, turning the conversation on issues regarding the work needed to be done at the ranch. Diego became rather suspicious at the old don reiterating the same tasks he had mentioned the day before, but was already tired of pointing out to his father that he was repeating himself for some reason. A touch of senility? I certainly hope not! Diego thought before informing the old don that he would go to Los Angeles to print the Guardian.

"Isn't the paper due tomorrow?" Don Alejandro asked.

"I always publish it on Wednesdays, Father! You know that!" Diego retorted.

"Yes! So it is due tomorrow, since tomorrow is Wednesday!" His father agreed with his own previous statement.

"I really don't know what is it with you today, Father!" Diego stated, convinced it was Wednesday, 24th of January. "But I don't think I will stay and find out. Felipe, shall we?" He asked his son, while standing up and saying goodbye to Don Alejandro.

It was a quarter to 9 when they arrived in Los Angeles, heading directly for the tavern.

"Buenos dias, Senores!" Victoria greeted them as they neared the bar.

"Good morning, Victoria" Diego replied, happy to see her alive and well after what he thought had been just a vivid nightmare.

"Would you two like some lemonade? Victoria asked. "It is already very hot outside and Pilar is just preparing a new jar. Nice and fresh for my favorite customers!"

"I thought I was your favorite customer, Senorita Escalante." Sergeant Mendoza uttered from a table near the door, which he was sharing with the Alcalde.

"You certainly are my most faithful customer, Sergeant!" She replied with a charming smile. "Don Alejandro is not coming, Diego?" She asked, turning towards her favorite customer.

"No. He is catching up with some bookkeeping this morning." He answered, suddenly realizing they had a similar conversation the day before. How odd.

"You know, Don Diego," De Soto opened the conversation, just as Victoria brought the jar of fresh lemonade and two glasses "I always found that the best morning drink for true men is a nice glass of Port. Don't you agree, Sergeant?"

"Port is very nice, mi Alcalde!" Mendoza answered, more than happy to be consulted, and feeling certain he had the correct answer.

"To each his own, Alcalde!" Diego answered with a strong sensation of déjà vu.

"That is true." Accepted De Soto. "After all, men do come in all shapes and sizes. But don't worry, Diego! I am sure some fencing lessons..."

" ...from Sergeant Mendoza might go a long way to getting me started in the right direction and, since you are feeling rather generous, you might even throw in some lessons with yourself." Diego continued in a mechanical tone, as if he was quoting from memory.

"Yes...I...I was going to say just that!" Answered De Soto in astonishment, wondering how had the caballero just read his mind.

"I appreciate the offer, Ignacio." Diego replied. "But I don't believe I would make the right student for your talents".

"Suit yourself, Diego!" De Soto showed himself a little offended. "I just tried to be generous. Senorita, how long do we have to wait for our breakfast?" He continued, looking towards Victoria.

Something is very wrong here! Decided Diego, suddenly turning pale.

*What is wrong?* Felipe signed, seeing the blood draining from his father's face.

"I don't know! I just have a strange sensation that I had already lived this day, and it doesn't end well." He answered.

"Are you going to finish your work for tomorrow's edition of The Guardian, Diego?" Victoria inquired. "I hoped you would come in early, since I might want to make a few changes to my advise column". She whispered.

"Tomorrow's edition?" Diego questioned, suddenly realizing it might be him who was wrong about the date. "Yes, of course. Tomorrow is ...Wednesday?" He continued, not sure himself if that was a question or not.

"Yes, Diego! Of course tomorrow is Wednesday since today is Tuesday." She replied, barely containing a judgmental smile and headed back towards the kitchen to get her advice column, oblivious to her friend's awkward blank stare.

"Felipe" He uttered as she was a few steps away. "I had the strangest dream last night and, now, everything people say and do... is just like it was in my dream. Well, almost. But I do have a very bad feeling about this."

"Here it is, Diego!" Victoria handed him a sheet of paper, which he took instinctively but without paying any attention to it.

"I believe it is time for us to head to The Guardian." He said, his right hand firmly holding the paper but his eyes looking straight through a wall. "Thank you for the lemonade, Victoria! We will see you at lunchtime!" He added, silently getting up and heading towards the door, not even bothering to salute anyone.

"Si, Diego! Would you like any particular dish?" She asked as she realized something was clearly wrong with her friend.

"Anything will do fine, Victoria". He replied absent-mindedly, just as he exited the tavern.

He entered the office without a word, his adopted son following him, and sat at his desk while the younger man was looking at him in confusion.

"I am not so sure it was a dream, Felipe." He eventually told him, then started replying to his son's signals. "What was it about? It was about today. We went home after lunch, but I returned to the pueblo in order to talk to Victoria during the siesta. As Zorro. And, as I got here, she and some other people were being dragged out of the tavern, taken hostages by some outlaws. They shot her and she was lying there, dead in a pool of blood, and I could do nothing to prevent it."

Felipe signaled that it was just a bad dream.

"I had thought that, too. I dismissed it this morning as a nightmare brought upon by some deeply rooted fears I might have about not always being there for Victoria. But then, this morning, my father started saying the same things he said yesterday – not yesterday but in my dream -, and so did De Soto and Mendoza. It was like I was reliving my morning. There is something more here, and I know, deep down, that I need to protect Victoria." He concluded, while resting his head on his hands.

Felipe signaled a Z.

"I am not sure Zorro would be of much help, Felipe, and I would rather not leave Victoria alone this afternoon. I will try to come up with an excuse for her to leave the tavern, but I am not sure I can make her listen. I need a very good excuse. And I must make sure the lancers don't fire on the bandits. It is what started that whole mess in the first place. At least it was, in my...dream..."

Decided to have Victoria leave the tavern, just to make sure she was safe, Diego forged a note from his father, asking her to come to the hacienda at once. They then went for lunch at the tavern and, pretending he needed to send Felipe to the hacienda, Diego remained there, making small-talk with Mendoza.

The youngest De la Vega mounted his horse, headed north and, after getting a 10-minutes break by a stream, returned at full speed with the message for the taverness. Reading the note, she wasted no time and, after saddling her mare, she headed for the hacienda.

Meanwhile, Diego was keeping his eyes open. There were seven suspicious men sat at a table situated in a corner of the tavern. All the other patrons were people he knew.

"Do you know those men, Sergeant?" He asked, turning his gaze towards the new arrivals, as his friend was about to retire for the siesta.

"No, Don Diego!" He answered. "I am not even sure they paid the travelers' tax. Perhaps I should make sure of that."

"They look rather dangerous, Sergeant!" Diego decided to warn him. "And there are seven of them. Wouldn't it be better to have more lancers here, just in case of trouble?"

"Trouble, Don Diego? No, I don't think there will be any trouble with them! And I am an officer of the Royal Army! No one would dare raise a finger on me!" Mendoza replied, briefly standing up and heading towards the table, determined to finish the business fast and go to his quarters for a rest.

Diego did not stop him, since he was not sure as to how to do that exactly. I had a bad dream was certainly not a good argument. He just motioned to Felipe to head for the kitchen exit and stood up pretending to go to the bar. Moments later, however, as the thugs noticed Mendoza was heading towards them, at a sign from their leader, they all stood up and pointed their guns towards the Sergeant and, randomly, towards other patrons.

"If you don't want to die" the leader told Pilar, Victoria's helper, "you will give me all the money in this place, at once! Do you understand, woman?" He added while moving his gun between her and Diego who was standing close to her, next to the bar.

"Do what he asked, Pilar!" Diego counseled calmly while raising his hands. " Senores," he then added, addressing the bandits "no one needs to get hurt! We will do as you say!"

"Of course you will, if you know what's good for you!" The leader replied.

"Manuel!" A voice came from the kitchen. "Look what we have here!" He added, as he was pushing Felipe through the curtains, a gun held at his back. "He was trying to leave through the back door."

"He's my servant." Said Diego, his voice no longer calm, but assertive. "I had just sent him on an errand."

"Really?" Asked the leader, mockingly. "Well, senor, I am afraid he is no longer an errand boy. He is now our hostage!" Having a look around as the other members of the gang were finishing collecting all the money from the tavern and the remaining people, he made a sign for them to take two men and Pilar. "Have you taken all the money?" He asked his men.

"It is all here!" One answered.

"Over a thousand pesos!" Another one exclaimed.

"Good. Now, Sergeant, you will go through that door and make sure the lancers and your alcalde stay quietly in the cuartel while we make our way out of the pueblo or the hostages die! Are we understood?" He asked with a smug in Diego's direction.

"How do we know you will let them go?" The tall caballero questioned.

"You don't." The man replied. "But it's not like the town's coward will do anything about it, isn't it so, Senor De la Vega?" He laughed at saying his name.

Diego decided it was better not to add anything and just stood there, trying to reassure his son it would all be alright. Felipe, on his part, was not too afraid, since he knew his father was already cooking up some plan to free him. So he smiled back at him, trying to convey the message that he trusted Zorro would save him, as he had done so many times before.

"Shouldn't we take him, as well?" Asked one of the bandits, pointing his gun at Diego. "We could ask for a ransom. His old man will pay!"

"No." Manuel answered. "He is a caballero. They will come after him. We don't need complications. Plus, he might be a coward, but with his stature, he will pose us some moving difficulties".

"Felipe is also a member of my family, Senor." Diego informed him, hoping they might let his son go.

"Didn't you say he was a servant?" Manuel questioned.

"I lied. He is my adopted son." Diego answered.

"Really? In that case, amigo, I will consider asking for a ransom for him." Manuel challenged with no intention of letting go of the young man, while Diego cursed his previous decision to say he was but a servant. "Antonio, get the horses!"

As he gave the order, they exited to the empty plaza and, taking a look at Mendoza who had barricaded the gates of the cuartel, and was now guarding the entrance to the Alcalde's office, they mounted their horses, taking their prisoners with them.

Diego watched as they were leaving the pueblo, thankful there was no confrontation and no reason for the men to kill the prisoners. He headed for his mount, considering his options to save them, when he heard four gunshots. He froze for a minute, looking towards the cuartel, convinced he was going to see the lancers aimlessly shooting after the bandits, but, as no one was there, he turned his head towards the entrance of the pueblo and saw that the bandits had stopped there long enough to shoot their hostages and discard their bodies, before making their escape.

Diego's hands fell from the saddlehorn and, unable to take his eyes away from what he knew to be the body of Felipe lying down, unresponsive, he headed towards him, first walking, then, beginning to run, until he slid next to him in the dirt. He reached to check if he was alive but stopped the moment he noticed the bleeding wound in the young man's head. For what seemed like a lifetime, Diego just remained there, unable to react at the sight of his dead son.

"I am so sorry, Don Diego" Mendoza uttered some five minutes later, at reaching to put a hand on his shoulder, thus making him regain some sense of reality.

Diego looked at him, then looked again at his adopted son's body and, raising to his feet, heading towards Esperanza, whom he rode towards the hacienda.

When he arrived home, Victoria and his father were taking their goodbyes in front of the main gate. His eyes blank, as in a trance, Diego ignored them and headed straight for the library, not even concerning himself with anyone that might see him opening the sliding panel. He, thus, did not notice Don Alejandro, Victoria, and one of their servants following and seeing him walk through to the hidden passage.

Once in the cave, he put on his black clothes, mounted Tornado, and headed out, determined to punish the bandits.

He rode towards the pueblo, not paying attention to De Soto, Mendoza and the lancers, who made no attempt against him. He spotted the tracks left by the eight men as they escaped, and followed them for about six miles, before arriving at a farmhouse.

From a distance, the place seemed deserted, were it not for the horses tied up behind the small house. The bandits were all inside, laughing and dividing the money.

"We should have kept the De la Vega, Manuel" Counseled one of the bandits.

"Why? What do you think they can do to us, Carlos?" The leader answered.

"I was just thinking we might have gotten a ransom first, and kill him afterwards!"

"What ransom? Do you think they would have paid for a servant?"

"But the man said it was his son and I heard that he had adopted him"

"If we would have kept him, it would have made it easier for the lancers to track us! He was extra weight, nothing more".

Zorro heard the conversation, feeling his blood pulsating through his head. He was angry. Never fight in anger! He heard the voice of his sword master as a random thought through his head. Doing his best to calm down, he took out his lash and his sword, making his way through the main door.

All he heard next was a frenzy of bullets, metal against metal, and the sound of his lash. By the time it was all over, he was the only one left standing in a room filled with corpses. No other man was alive.

Looking at them, he realized that he had crossed the one line he had promised himself never to cross. The one line separating him from the men he had, for so long, pursued and brought to justice. He was no longer different, but just like them, and he deserved to be brought to justice, as well.

Slowly mounting Tornado, he headed home.

As the cave entrance opened and Tornado made his way to the main hall, Zorro saw his father and Victoria incredulously looking at him. He stared at them for a minute, confused, not sure if they were or not supposed to be there, then climbed down and led Tornado to his stall, taking off the saddle and brushing him.

"I am afraid Felipe will no longer be taking care of you, my friend" He uttered painfully, his tears making the mask unbearable.

Raising his head, he took off the black cloth, unaware of the shocked expressions on his father's and Victoria's faces.

"Felipe is dead. And I am a murderer." He proclaimed a few inutes later, finally able to turn a grief-stricken face towards them. "It is all over now." He added sliding down, his back to a pole.

"What in the world is this, Don Alejandro?" De Soto asked at entering the cave through the sliding panel no one had remembered to close, followed by Mendoza. He looked around a few seconds and remained motionless at the sight of Diego, dressed as Zorro, sobbing on the ground, next to Tornado.

"I have failed today, Father". Diego whispered as Don Alejandro headed towards him and put his arms around his son, trying his best to console him to no avail.

Raising his head, Diego saw De Soto and the Sergeant watching him dumbstruck.

"They are all dead." He said. "You will find them in the former Alvear farmhouse, five miles east of here".

It took a while for the two men to understand what he was saying, as well as to come to terms with the reveal.

"Send the lancers for them, Sergeant!" Asked De Soto. "I am afraid I will have to arrest you, Diego!" He added, turning towards his former colleague.

"That's alright, Ignacio" He answered, making an effort to stand up. "I think I have to go now, Father." He told the old man as he was trying to relinquish his embrace.

"You are all I have left, Son! You are not going anywhere!" The old man replied sobbing, fighting to keep hold of him.

Diego wiped a tear from his father's right cheek and kissed him on the forehead, then freed himself from his embrace and slowly made his way towards the woman he loved.

"I don't think I will be able to keep those promises I made, Victoria." He told her, as she buried her head in his chest.

"Why have you never told me, Diego?" She asked, heartbroken.

"All I have ever wanted was for you and my father to be safe. It's why I never told anyone. Take care of him for me, my love!" He added, referring to his father, as he caressed her cheek and left her embrace to head for De Soto, who simply followed him out through the sliding pannel.

He never saw the faces of the lancers as he mounted Esperanza, heading towards the cuartel. He did not know which men locked him in the jail cell, and had no idea about what was happening outside, where people had started gathering in the plaza to demand his release. He neither heard, nor saw anything, just went to sleep, looking forward to his execution.

To be continued …


	3. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 3

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, wondering where he was and how he had gotten there. He had the certainty that he was supposed to be in jail but, instead, he found himself in his bedroom.

"Just a nightmare?" He wondered as he could vividly recall all he had lived through the previous two days. He looked at his hands to see if they were red with blood, but they were just as clean as they had been the previous morning. "It wasn't real! I am not a murderer." He concluded in relief. "Felipe!" He uttered in a panic, getting out of bed, putting on a blue robe and heading for his son's room.

Felipe was blissfully asleep when he was awakened by Diego calling and shaking him. His sleep left him in but a few moments at seeing his adoptive father's desperate face. Diego only calmed down when he saw his son moving around, wondering as to the reason for that rude awakening.

"You are alive!" He uttered, with a clear sigh of relief.

Felipe signaled to ask what was wrong.

"It must have been just a nightmare, Felipe" Diego told him, sitting on his bed. "It is alright. Everything is alright!" He added, as he calmed himself down. "Come, let's have breakfast!" He invited the clearly confused young man.

"What is going on, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked from the door. "Is there something wrong with Felipe?"

"No, he is fine, Father" Diego answered. "I just had a bad dream and seem to have ended up waking the entire hacienda. I will get dressed and meet you both in the dining room for breakfast"

"It's a beautiful day, Diego!" Don Alejandro remarked after taking a look outside. "And since you did insist on waking us up at this hour, I prefer to have breakfast in the patio".

"But, Father...it is still a little chill. You might catch a cold." Diego warned him, unable to shake the need to avoid doing anything that he had done in that confusing nightmare.

"Don't be absurd, son! The weather is perfect!" Don Alejandro decided, and directed himself towards the kitchen, to instruct Maria on where to serve them breakfast.

Diego headed to his room, selected a brown suit and a black sash to wrap around his waist, and headed for the terrace, feeling that something was surely completely wrong.

"Well, Father" Diego announced after absent-mindedly listening to his Don Alejandro's plans for the day "I believe I should be heading for the pueblo. Father, what day is today?" He suddenly asked, making the old don to believe his son was again reading too much and had lost track of time.

"Tuesday, the 23rd, Diego. You certainly know that, since you always go to the port on the 22nd of each month. By the way: anything interesting – on my taste – among the books you bought? I am not sure I can keep my mind on accounting all day."

"Books? Oh, yes, Father. You might like Prometheus Unbound by Shelly. It made for an interesting read". When in the world did I read it?

"I was certain! Another night spent reading. No wonder you had a nightmare! It is probably the lack of sleep." Don Alejandro decided.

"I ...yes, you are probably right, Father!" Diego accepted. "I'll see you later… and please tell Maria not to expect me for lunch." He stood up and went in the library where he took the volume he had just mentioned to his father to have a look at it, realizing that he had, indeed, read it.

Followed by a confused Felipe, Diego mounted Esperanza, and pretended to be heading for town. When they were no longer at risk of being seen from the hacienda, they doubled back and soon entered the cave, leaving the horses not far from the hidden entrance. Once there, Felipe started signaling, asking Diego what was going on.

"One bad dream is one bad dream, Felipe" He answered. "But whatever this was, it was no dream. I have already lived this day and I need to do something about it."

Felipe's gaze seemed more like a silent prayer for Diego to be in good mental health, although he suspected that might not be the case. His father caught it and realized he needed to explain himself better.

"I know it is hard to understand, Felipe. I don't understand it myself. But it is so clear it can't have been a dream! Look, today, a little before 3pm, eight bandits will attack the tavern and, unless I prevent it somehow, it will be a massacre. The first time it happened, they killed Victoria, Mendoza, and a lot of other people, including me. The second time, they killed you and Pilar, I ended up killing them, and my father, Victoria, De Soto and Mendoza came wandering into the cave, which eventually resulted in my incarceration. For some reason, this day is repeating itself, and I believe it happens because I need to make it right. I have to prevent those men from killing anyone!"

Felipe signaled to ask who the men were.

"I don't know, Felipe!" Diego answered. "They were not from Los Angeles, but they seemed to know a lot about the people here, including myself. I did see their faces and I am sure I will be able to recognize them. The problem is that they are ruthless and heavily armed and I cannot risk taking on them when they are in the tavern, because it will just end with a repeat of the situation. I really need to think on how to go about this one."

At noon, Zorro arrived in the pueblo, heading directly towards the tavern. There, he entered through one of the rooms upstairs and made his way to the upper corridor. Making sure the bandits were not yet there, he went back out and waited for Victoria to exit through the kitchen door. As she did, certain that they were not being overheard, he called her and she came running to him with a big smile on her face.

"Are you here for lunch, Zorro?" She asked him.

"I wish I could say yes, Senorita. Unfortunately, I am here because you are in danger. Victoria, I am going to ask you to do something, and I need you to understand that doing what I ask is important. I need you to do as I say or many people may die today."

"Die? Wh...What can I do?" She wondered.

"Victoria, I need you to close the tavern right now. Send everyone away, then saddle your horse and go to the De la Vega Hacienda. Stay there until I tell you that it is safe for you to return. I need you to act quickly. I don't know what time the men I am following might get here, and I need you are away from danger."

"Close now? But I have customers. What do I tell them? How can you even be sure they will come here?" She inquired.

"They will come. Please trust me, mi amor, and do as I ask! You are the most resourceful woman I know. You will find a way to make everyone leave as soon as possible!" Zorro assured her. "I need to go now, before my presence is noticed." He added, tenderly brushing his lips to hers, before heading for Tornado.

Victoria entered the kitchen and, pausing for a few moments to think, she cut some onions, making sure to inhale the smell, then, tears in her eyes, headed for the main lounge and, pretending to have received some devastating news, calmly asked for everyone to leave, informing lunch was not to be served that day and that she needed to close the place down. In order to avoid upsetting her patrons, she declined taking any money for what they were eating or drinking at the time, which prompted everyone to vacate the premises rather rapidly, concerned for her and forgetting any complaint about being kicked out. She then locked the door, and sent Pilar home, insisting she just needed to talk to Don Alejandro. Mounting her mare, she headed towards the De la Vega Hacienda no more than 15 minutes after her most recent encounter with her masked lover.

Satisfied that Victoria had done as he had instructed, Zorro, who had meanwhile made his way to the church and climbed on top of it to have a better view of the surrounding area, awaited the arrival of the eight bandits. They entered the pueblo around 2 pm, just as he was beginning to doubt whether his strange dream was really more than that. As soon as they arrived into the plaza, he took a small crossbow and some arrows he had prepared beforehand with explosive charges, and begun firing in the direction of the eight men.

The explosions took them by surprise, scaring the horses and attracting the attention of the lancers and the Alcalde, who rapidly went out of his office to see what was going on. The bandits, thinking that it was a trap by the soldiers, reacted by drawing their pistols, aiming at the men coming out from the garrison, while the people in the plaza instinctively took cover. Zorro had, meanwhile, changed to normal crossbow arrows, since they were easier to reload than guns, and was aiming at the bandits' hands, making sure they would not shoot the lancers. Several screams of pain accompanied the gunfire but, minutes later, the eight men were surrounded and had given up their weapons.

Satisfied there was no casualty, Zorro hurried towards the cave. Once there, he changed his clothes and, along with Felipe, on Pinto and Esperanza, they rapidly headed back to the hacienda where Victoria was engaged in a discussion with Don Alejandro.

"Victoria!" Diego exclaimed as they entered the house. "What a pleasant surprise! We went by the tavern for lunch, but it was closed. Has anything happened?"

"Buenas tardes, Diego!" She answered. "Nothing bad happened. I just had to close early today, since I had something to discuss with Don Alejandro."

"Something to discuss with my father? Important enough for you to close the tavern? I do hope it is nothing serious!" He seemed concerned.

"Don't worry, Diego!" Don Alejandro replied. "Victoria has already explained everything to me, and I believe I managed to put her mind at ease. Now, how about we get some lunch? Since Victoria closed the tavern, I had a feeling you would return for lunch here, and we were waiting for you two. I sure am famished!"

"Of course, Father!" Diego agreed.

About half an hour later, Senor Peralta came with news from the pueblo regarding the standoff. Diego faked surprise, Felipe faked not hearing, and Victoria and Don Alejandro exchanged a knowing look, that, to their minds translated as I don't know how he does it, but Zorro is always right!

"Thank you for lunch, Don Alejandro, and for your kind advice!" Victoria said with a smile addressed at her host. "I very much enjoyed it, but I do believe it is time for me to return to the tavern. I might be at least able to open for dinner!"

"Nonsense, Victoria!" Diego stated. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off, and stay here, at the hacienda until tomorrow? We would enjoy the company, and you might enjoy some of the new books I bought yesterday, in San Pedro".

"I would love to, Diego, but I do need to get back to work." She replied, standing up and preparing to leave.

"With those bandits in town, I am sure my Father, just as I, would feel much better if you stayed, though! Your patrons will forgive you for closing the tavern for half a day, since it is hardly ever closed." The tall caballero insisted.

"That is true, Victoria. Diego is right. If Zorro warned you about those men, who is to say the Alcalde has the situation under control, even if they are in prison?" Don Alejandro wondered.

"Zorro warned you about them?" Diego inquired, pretending to be surprised by the news. "Well, clearly, Zorro thought you'd be safer here, at the hacienda."

"You might be right, Diego. But I don't even have a nightgown. I should at least go back to take some of my things." Victoria replied.

"You don't have to do that. One of my cousins from Spain forgot some of her things here a few years ago – I do believe some nightgowns are among them - and I am sure she wouldn't mind you borrowing them, especially since I doubt she will ever reclaim the items. We will have a guestroom prepared for you, and I will have them brought there, so you needn't worry about a thing."

"Are you sure she wouldn't mind, Diego?" Victoria asked, unsure if to accept.

"Absolutely!" He confirmed with a smile on his face, winking at his father who was watching him with some confusion, since he had no recollection of the cousin in question, or of the things she might have left behind.

Diego asked the servants to prepare a spare guestroom for Victoria and, making sure no one saw him, took a nightgown, a dress and some toiletries he had bought during one of his trips to Monterey as gifts for Victoria – gifts he had intended to give her as Zorro - and brought them to her room, leaving them on the bed. After informing her that all the things she needed were already in the guestroom, he wished her a good siesta and returned to the dining room, where his father was awaiting an explanation.

"Whose things did you give her, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked as soon as he got there. "And what is that story about the cousin leaving her things here? I am quite sure you made that up, Son!"

"I did, Father" Diego admitted. "The truth is… I bought them for Zafira, when I was in Spain. They were supposed to be hers, but I never got the chance to give them to her, and I realized that I had brought them with me only when I unpacked upon my return. I wanted to give them to Victoria, but they did not seem like an appropriate gift to make to a friend." He added.

"I see… And you are right. There is nothing appropriate in gifting a woman nightgowns, unless you are at least engaged to her. Certainly not if the woman is just a dear friend." Don Alejandro agreed with his son. "Victoria is just a friend, is she not, Diego?"

"Of course she is, Father." Diego confirmed with a nod and a genuine smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I do believe there are some new books in the library waiting for me."

"I wouldn't want to stay in the way of your readings, Son!" Don Alejandro grinned at him, then turned around and headed towards his room for a much-deserved nap.

Diego headed for the library to start on a new book, wondering if the nightmare was finally over, now that everyone was safe and the bandits were behind bars.

Victoria joined him about two hours later, after she had had her siesta, and took on reading his volume of Robin Hood which, his father informed her later, was one of Diego's favorite novels.

The afternoon and the evening passed by quickly.

Diego won two out of three games of chess to his father and lost two to Felipe. They discussed books, art, music, and shared another meal together, all of them feeling that they were nothing less than a true family.

Victoria stayed with Diego a little later, asking him questions about Mexico City and Monterrey, none of which she had visited, sharing news of her brothers, one of which had married and already had a child, and remembering adventures that got the four of them into trouble when they were youngsters. Felipe had remained with them for a while, but eventually left around 9 pm, allowing for the two to continue their conversation in private for over one more hour. When they were ready to go to sleep, Diego accompanied Victoria to her room and, pretending he was heading towards his, he returned to the library, and disappeared through the hidden panel in the fireplace.

Too ecstatic to sleep after having spent a beautiful evening with Victoria, Zorro decided to do a night ride to cool down his head and, about half an hour later, he found himself heading towards the pueblo to find out if everything was alright with the bandits. As he arrived in Los Angeles from the east, he noticed the great state of agitation of the cuartel, where the lancers were fighting to take out some wounded men, and to extinguish a fire which had engulfed the armory. Decided to help as much as possible, he guided Tornado towards the cuartel's gates, and asked Mendoza what had happened and what he could do to help. The Sergeant was in a state of shock and confusion, and it took him a while to understand and answer his questions.

"The bandits we caught at noon escaped!" He said. "They had more accomplices. Those men came to free them, and then they blew up the armory! Five of my men are dead, two more are wounded, and there are some we didn't find yet."

"Where is De Soto?" Zorro inquired.

"I ... I don't know! I haven't seen him." Mendoza told him, only at that point noticing his commander was nowhere in sight.

Zorro entered the office of the Alcalde, and headed towards his private rooms to discover his former colleague shot through the heart in his bed. He remained there, frozen, staring at his body till Mendoza came following him.

"Madre de Dios! They killed him!" The Sergeant exclaimed.

"Which way did they go?" Zorro asked.

"North. They went north, Zorro." Came the reply.

"The De la Vega Hacienda is north." Zorro pointed out with an uncharacteristically shaken voice, as he made his way back towards the entrance, mounted Tornado, and headed home.

Pushing Tornado to maximum speed, he arrived at the Hacienda less than ten minutes later, finding the door open and hearing screams and a shot coming from inside the house. With an intense feeling of dread, he made his way through the main entrance, and found his father wounded, in the library.

He went straight to him, but Don Alejandro refused any help and begged him to help his family and Victoria. Hearing the bandits at the back of the house, he made his way towards them and, after disarming and knocking out six of the men, he found Felipe and sent him to tend to his father with instructions to move the old don to the cave.

Moments later, he headed down the corridor to help Victoria. By the time he arrived, four men were in her room, and Victoria was lying unconscious on her bed, badly bruised, blood on her legs. Angry at the scene, Zorro made a point to badly injure the men, leaving them alive but unconscious. He then headed straight towards Victoria to make sure she was alive. Finding her pulse, he took her in his arms, and carried her to the hidden passage into his sanctuary, where Felipe was already tending to his father's wound. Once there, he checked to see that Victoria didn't have any open wound on her, and found the young woman to have only some big bluish bruises on her face and hands. He knew that the blood tainting the bottom half of her nightgown and her legs was also hers, but did not dare look for its source as he lay her in his chair.

Assured she was not severely injured, he headed to check for his father's wound, just as Tornado returned on the back entrance to the cave. Don Alejandro was unconscious, and he had lost a lot of blood. He bandaged his wound as he heard the lancers outside the hacienda engaging the remaining bandits, who had meanwhile regained consciousness. The gunshots lasted for ten minutes as he did his best to prevent his father from bleeding to death. Felipe helped him improvise a mattress with some straws and blankets they kept in the cave, and he made sure his father was resting comfortably. He then headed towards the sliding panel, and blocked it at hearing the lancers entering the hacienda in search of its occupants.

Victoria woke up some time later, terrified at remembering what had happened. He hurried by her side when he heard her move on the chair but she was too shocked to let him touch her and retreated when he wanted to embrace her. She was trembling, trying to cover herself with an invisible blanket, and he rushed to bring her one. Victoria took it, brought her feet up at her chest, and begun rocking herself in the chair.

"You are safe now, Victoria!" He told her in a calm tone, trying to reassure her. "No one will hurt you here!" He added, reaching to caress her hair, his hand being met with a violent twitch. "I am so sorry, mi amor, I am so sorry!" He uttered, accusing himself for having left the hacienda.

Minutes later, Felipe became agitated and raced to him indicating something was wrong with Don Alejandro. His father was breathing heavily and convulsing.

"Father!" He shouted as the old man was trembling in his arms. "Hold on, Father! Please, hold on! His lung must be punctured, Felipe. We need Doctor Hernandez! Take Tornado and be careful! Some of the bandits may still be out there! Bring the doctor here as soon as possible! And take some guns, just in case!"

Felipe nodded, took two primed pistols, mounted Tornado without hesitation, and left in a hurry to bring Doctor Hernandez, while Zorro was holding Don Alejandro, trying to help him through the convulsions.

Doctor Hernandez arrived at the cave, seated on Tornado behind Felipe, half an hour later. He headed towards where Zorro was hugging Don Alejandro and tried to pull him from his embrace in order to check on his wound, but Zorro did not let him go. He was just sitting there with his father in his arms, his mask wet from his tears, and Doctor Hernandez noted with sadness that the old don was already dead.

"You need to check on Victoria, Doctor" Zorro asked him, his eyes lost on his father's face. "I believe they... She is bleeding, but doesn't have any wound. She doesn't let me touch her."

"Yes, of course...I am sorry for Don Alejandro...Diego!" He uttered after realizing who their masked hero was at seeing his determination not to let go of the dead man, and Felipe's familiarity with Zorro's hideout.

"It was my fault this happened," Zorro replied. "I went for a ride. I had the feeling something bad was going to happen today. I should have never left them!"

"You cannot take the weight of the world on your shoulders, son! Some events are out of your control." The doctor tried to encourage him as he was preparing a drink to calm Victoria down and get her to sleep.

She never heard anything that happened around her. She swallowed the drink, and fell asleep. The doctor examined her, confirming the severity of the attack she had to endure.

"I did all I could for her, Diego." Doctor Hernandez said as he finished his examination and treatment. "She will need you to be strong now. It will take a lot of patience and time, but she will recover." He assured him.

Zorro stood up, carefully placing his father back on the blanket, took off his mask, changed his clothes, and return to carry the body of Don Alejandro to his room, where he laid him on his bed. The hacienda was empty, so he locked all the doors and windows, then he headed back to the cave where he asked a traumatized Felipe to return to Los Angeles with the doctor. He had to ask a few times until the young man understood what he needed to do.

When they were gone, he took Victoria in his arms and brought her to his room where he put her on the bed, covered her in two blankets and laid down, pulling her in his arms, and holding her tight before falling asleep.


	4. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 4

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, looking next to him and expecting to find a sleeping, traumatized Victoria. She was not there, and there were no signs of her ever being there.

"Father!" He uttered as he got off the bed and headed toward Don Alejandro's room.

Once there, he wanted to rush inside but, noticing there was no sign of battle anywhere, he stopped in his tracks and decided to knock.

"Father? May I come in?" He asked.

There was no answer.

"Father? Can you hear me?" He asked again as his impatience was growing.

When no one answered, he just opened the door and headed, his heart pounding, towards his father's bed. At hearing him come in, the man woke up, and was now looking at him, wondering what prompted his son to just waltz into his room like that, at 6 a.m.

"Are you...Are you alright, Father?" Diego asked him.

"Of course I am alright, Diego!" Don Alejandro answered. "Why wouldn't I be? Is there something wrong son?"

"No...nothing is wrong, Father! Not yet..." Diego replied, taking a hand to his head to massage his temples.

"In that case, I guess I will see you for breakfast in 20 minutes, Son." The Don informed him, waiting for his son to leave his room.

"Yes. See you in 20 minutes, Father." Diego answered and headed back to his quarters.

This is no dream. No nightmare. He thought while pacing in his bedroom. This day is, for some reason, repeating itself, and no matter what I do, someone I love always ends up dying. No...There must be something I can do!

A few hours later, as he was sitting in the cave, trying to devise a new plan to annihilate the approaching threat, Diego decided that half of his plan had, in fact worked, so he only needed to repeat it.

He visited Victoria as Zorro, asked her to close the tavern, and go to the hacienda, which she did. Afterwards, he made sure the bandits were captured and put in jail. Soon after, he pondered on what had gone wrong the previous evening, and decided to head for the Alcalde's office.

"Buenas tardes, Alcalde" He greeted Ignacio de Soto at entering through the roof window.

"Zorro! I had a feeling you were around here somewhere." De Soto replied, without moving against him. "What do you want?"

"Just to give you a friendly warning, Alcalde!" He answered. "The men you have in jail have more accomplices. They will come to free them later this evening. They plan to blow up the armory, and to kill you. You'll need to set a trap for them."

"How could you possibly know that, and why should I believe a word you say? For all I know, it might be you trying to set them free!" The Alcalde challenged him.

"If I wanted them free I wouldn't have helped you capture them. They are dangerous men, Alcalde, and all I want is for them not to hurt anyone ever again."

De Soto eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he was telling the truth.

"I will consider your warning." He replied.

"That is a wise decision, Alcalde!" He confirmed as he saluted, and left through the front door, whistling for Tornado.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a similar way as the previous one, although he could not help becoming more protective with Victoria, as he watched her with gratitude for God's decision to erase the previous day from her memory.

In the evening, he started feeling restless, wondering if the Alcalde will be able to prevent the new attack. During the dinner, he excused himself to talk to Felipe and, heading towards the library, he instructed his son to keep his father and Victoria in that room till midnight and, in case anyone came to the entrance of the hacienda or he heard noises outside, lead them to the cave and seal the panel door, so that they might be safe.

Diego also took his father aside sometime later and, without offering a real explanation, asked him to stay with Victoria in the library until his return. Don Alejandro protested at first but, eventually, decided to trust that his son had a reason for the unusual request.

Around 9 pm, the tall caballero excused himself, saying he needed some fresh air, and took Esperanza for a ride. He headed towards the cave, changed his clothes, and made his way, as Zorro, towards Los Angeles, leaving Esperanza in the cave. Once in Los Angeles, he headed for the part of the cuartel where the prison was located, waiting for the accomplices of the bandits to get there.

They arrived around 10:30. Realizing the guards were probably asleep or distracted, as the men were preparing to shoot them through the prison's barred windows, he got down from the roof and knocked them down with some punches, the commotion awakening the guards and drawing the attention of the lancers. Trying to avoid the gunfire and convinced that the lancers were now fully aware of the situation, he took the chance to make his escape on Tornado.

At passing by the Mission, the armory blew up, and, as he looked back, he saw the men escaping and attacking the lancers from behind. Seconds later he felt a sudden pain in his back, and realized he had been injured.

He headed towards the hacienda, but unsure he would be able to remain conscious for long enough to go through the cave entrance, he headed for the main door, where he knocked, calling for Felipe to open it.

Don Alejandro, just like the taverness, was surprised to see his deaf grandson hurrying towards the entrance, and even more amazed to see Zorro come in, while instructing Tornado to go home. He locked the door behind him, supporting himself on Felipe, who panicked at seeing him in that state.

"Zorro! You are hurt!" Exclaimed Victoria in terror, as she rushed towards him, Don Alejandro following her.

"Medical kit, Felipe!" He gathered his power to ask. "Bandits...escaped. Cave! Now!" He asked as his son led him to a chair, and hurried towards his room, from where he returned several minutes later with a bag filled with emergency medical supplies.

Felipe then helped his father head towards the fireplace where, to Don Alejandro and Victoria's confusion, he opened the sliding panel and helped Zorro in, signaling them to follow.

Once all four of them were in the narrow corridor, Felipe blocked the entrance, and led them to the main cave. There, with the help of a very confused Don Alejandro, he led Zorro to the chair while Victoria was taking in their surroundings, frozen on the stairs.

The cave is in the De la Vega hacienda. She realized. Felipe heard Zorro. Zorro could understand his signs perfectly. Both Tornado and Esperanza are in the cave. Diego had left on Esperanza. Diego… is Zorro.

"The bullet..." Zorro stuttered.

Felipe helped him out of his shirt, and stopped at realizing the bullet had touched Zorro's left lung. Such surgery was more complicated than he was able to perform, and he signaled that he needed to bring Doctor Hernandez.

"No!" Zorro stopped him. "Bandits… Danger."

"Diego?" Don Alejandro asked with a stunned expression at realizing, in his turn, that it was his son under the mask. His son who had saved the people so many times, his son who had helped him cheat death more than once, his son who was wounded and bleeding and maybe even...No… my son cannot be dying!

Felipe ignored the injured man, and headed towards Tornado.

"Stop him!" He asked Don Alejandro. "Might die!"

"And if he doesn't get him here, you will die! Go Felipe, but be careful!" Don Alejandro asked the young man, who took two loaded pistols with him, but did not hesitate when mounting Tornado.

Zorro rose from his chair and stumbled towards the horse in an effort to stop him. He tried to whistle for Tornado to return, but he could not, as his lungs were failing. Unable to stand, he crumbled to the stone pavement, Victoria and his father rushing at his side.

Don Alejandro reached to take off his mask, but Zorro stopped him so, instead, he took some rags and tried put pressure on the wound in order to limit the blood loss as best he could, while Victoria hurried to take some blankets for him to rest on and cover with. Shots were heard upstairs, but the house was empty. They could hear the bandits destroying the place, yet they knew to be safe in the cave, and their real concern was Zorro.

Felipe returned with Doctor Hernandez only an hour later, since the doctor had been treating the wounded lancers, and he was unable to come with him earlier. As he waited, the young man left a message in the Alcalde's office, signing it from Zorro and informing that the bandits were at the De la Vega Hacienda.

By the time Felipe returned, the De Soto and the remaining lancers were surrounding the hacienda, intended on capturing the escaped men.

Doctor Hernandez dismounted the black stallion with some difficulty due to both their statures, and headed for Zorro. He took some time convincing a grieving Don Alejandro to let go of his patient, but, after realizing the extent of the damage, he shook his head, as it was too late for their masked hero.

"I can extract the bullet, but I don't believe that would be advisable." He informed them. "It will only cause him more pain, and, t this point it will not save his life. In fact, had the bullet come out already, he might already be dead. I am very sorry, but I cannot help him, my friends."

"What do you mean you cannot help him?" Don Alejandro inquired, his eyes begging for a miracle.

"It is too late, Alejandro, there is nothing I can do at this stage." He informed him. Then, the doctor looked around and saw the grief-stricken faces of the people around him, in Zorro's secret hideout and finally realized that Diego de la Vega was Zorro.

"It's...alright" The dying man replied, looking at his father and Victoria, then staring at Felipe. "You're ...alive. It is... all ...matters."

He remained conscious a while longer, until he felt the blood invading his mouth, preventing him from breathing and slowly drowning him as he faded away into the darkness.


	5. January 23rd, 1821/ day 5

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, wondering where he was, and how he had gotten there. He had very clear recollections of a day that insisted on repeating itself, and always ending up in death and destruction.

He stared at the ceiling, thankful for being alive, and wondering for a brief time how it all still went wrong. Diego didn't want to die, but if that was the price for his loved ones to live and be safe, he was willing to pay it. Still, he was glad to be alive. If he really was alive, and everything was real, and he hadn't just lost his mind.

He remained in his bed a few minutes pondering on all he knew and did not know about the attacks. The one on the tavern was easily preventable. He considered that, in order to prevent further havoc, perhaps he should just kill the thugs. But that wasn't him. He remembered the emptiness he had felt after taking his full revenge when they had killed Felipe, and he knew he could not endure becoming a murderer, not even a murdered of murderers.

It took him three tries to make sure no-one would die in the tavern heist, and had not yet been able to prevent the escape and the attack on the hacienda. There were ways, he knew. His father had vaqueros whom he could ask to stand guard in order to protect the house. But that was not a good option. The men could easily fall victim to the bandits' bullets, so that would have meant nothing more than trading one life for another.

He was good at saving people. Zorro was his calling, his destiny. But somehow, he was failing. What was he missing? There had been ten men attacking the hacienda the first time. Eight men in prison and two trying to get them out the second time. Plus someone blowing up the armory. That added up to eleven. But the two attempting to have the men escape were knocked out before they managed to break them out, which means there was someone else as well. At least 12 then. Perhaps more. How many more? Diego frowned as he realized he needed to change tactics.

Diego rose from the bed, and headed for the cave. He took a few minutes writing a message to inform Felipe as to his whereabouts, and changed into his black clothes.

Twenty minutes later, Zorro entered the tavern's kitchen, sure to find Victoria alone at that time of day, preparing breakfast.

"Zorro!" She exclaimed at seeing him, and rushed into his arms, her mouth reaching for his lips.

"No time for pleasure, mi amor." He said after a soft kiss. "Victoria, I need you to close the tavern before noon and head to the De la Vega Hacienda. You will be safe there, but you will not be safe if you remain here. Send Pilar home, and make sure to lock all the doors, then saddle your horse and leave the pueblo."

"But...I don't understand. Why do I need to leave?"

"Because some very bad men will be coming here." He explained, leaving her with more questions than answers. "It is the only way to protect you and save the lives of others who might be caught in the crossfire. I know you don't understand, and I cannot explain more right now. Please just trust me, it will make sense in time."

As soon as she nodded her agreement, Zorro kissed her hand, left the same way he came in, then headed towards the Alcalde's office.

Once there, he entered De Soto's bedroom through the roof window, surprising the man still asleep, although it was almost 7:30 in the morning and he knew Ignacio de Soto was a morning person. He considered taking out his sword and pointing it at Ignacio's throat, eventually deciding against it.

"Good morning, Alcalde". He greeted, standing tall by his bed, hands crossed over his chest.

"Good morning, Zorro!" De Soto answered with a yawn, as he adjusted his sleeping position. "ZORRO!" He then suddenly exclaimed, jumping out of his bed at realizing his archenemy was really standing next to him.

Good I decided against pointing the sword. Zorro thought. It would have gone right through his neck...

"I am not here to threaten you, Alcalde. I am just here to talk." He assure him

"If you are here to talk about your surrender, I am all ears, otherwise..." Ignacio replied as he reached for his sword but was rapidly stopped by Zorro's.

"Stay calm, Alcalde. You need to listen to me, and I will have your undivided attention." He underlined, a menacing tone in his voice.

"What do you want?" The Alcalde decided to ask.

"Around 2:30 pm, a group of eight men will enter the pueblo. They will be heavily armed, and they will not hesitate to kill civilians and lancers alike."

"How do you know that?" Asked De Soto

"I know everything, remember?" Came the masked man's confident reply. "Even if you capture them, they still have more accomplices. At least three or four. Around 10:30 pm, those accomplices will try to break them out of jail and will blow up the armory. If the men escape, they will head north, towards the De la Vega Hacienda. But you must stop them from escaping, or many of your men will pay the price. You must stop the attacks."

"If what you are saying is true, why aren't you doing anything about this, Zorro? Do you believe I am so stupid as to fall for one of your traps?"

"No Alcalde." Zorro tried to assure him. "It is no trap. I have no hidden agenda. These are bad men, and I cannot stop them. If I could, I would. This time, however, I need you and your men to do your jobs. You must place the lancers carefully around the plaza at 2 pm and you must make sure this building is secured this evening. I will not be interfering, Alcalde. You and your men are on your own!"

As he said these last words, he uttered an "Adios!" and made his way out through the main door, just before De Soto had the time to shout for the lancers. From there, he made his way out of the pueblo, and towards the hacienda. For once, Zorro was firmly decided not to interfere, bracing himself for a possible reveal of his double identity to his father and the woman he loved, in case De Soto was unable or unwilling to heed his warning.

Arriving at the cave a little before 10 am, he changed his clothes and made his plan for the rest of the day. A little while later, he greeted his father, who was in his office, convinced Diego had been asleep till that hour. After a short interaction with the old don, he asked Maria for his breakfast in the library, where he dedicated the next two hours to continuing reading one of the new books he had bought, or, at least try to, since his thoughts were constantly lost in the traumatizing memories of the previous times he had lived through that day.

A little after 12:00, Victoria arrived and joined him and his father in the library till the lunch was ready. She told them why she was there, that Zorro had asked her to come, and they were more than happy to play the gracious hosts. After all, they both perceived Victoria as a member of the family.

The day passed much like the previous ones, Diego insisting for Victoria to stay, make up some story about having bought some pieces of clothing for his former fiancée and ending up easily winning all the chess games of the evening, as if anticipating the moves made by his two opponents. He did insist for everyone to remain in the library until eleven, despite their protests, just to make sure they would be safe.

As it had happened on the previous nights, the bandits attacked the hacienda, this time, lancers following them closely. At hearing the gunshots outside, Diego rushed everyone into the cave and blocked the entrance, waiting for the soldiers to do their duty, and refusing all interference.

"What is this, Diego?" Asked Don Alejandro at reaching the main room, wondering about all he was seeing.

"It is Zorro's cave!" Victoria exclaimed. "Why is Zorro's cave behind your fireplace?"

"Because I am Zorro, Victoria" Diego informed her using the same tone of voice he normally only used when wearing the mask.

"You, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked. "No...no...that's impossible! I saw Zorro many times… I saw Zorro fight. And you don't fight! ! I would have known if it was my own son behind that mask!" He disagreed with the evidence before him. "You...you fought Gilberto and won! He said… you said he believed you to be Zorro. Dios, you are Zorro!" Don Alejandro finally came to terms with everything, just as gunfire could be heard from inside the hacienda.

"Trust me, Father," Diego replied. "There are days when I certainly wish it wasn't me. But there are also days when I get someone out of trouble, save a life maybe, catch some criminals, or just stop one of the Alcalde's plots, and those days make the idea of having a price on my head worthwhile."

"Aren't you going to do something about those bandits?" Victoria inquired, staring at Diego, still wondering how to feel about finally knowing the identity of the man she loved.

"Not this time, Victoria. This time, I will leave the work to the men paid to do it." He answered calmly. "So?" He asked her. "Still convinced you can love the man of flesh and blood?"

"I...I did not expect it to be you, Diego. But I guess it makes sense. All those clever traps and devices, your height...Dios, now that I really look at you, I don't understand how was I ever fooled by a mask... And you wonder if I can love you? I must have made it so difficult for you to love me! Because… I know what I said, Diego, how I have always compared my friend with the man I loved, and always found him wanting. If I only knew...I would have never said any of those things!"

"Don't worry about it, Victoria! Yes, I wear a black mask, but there is more to a mask than a piece of cloth. My true mask is the man you saw in your tavern every day. The man who did everything to avoid you realizing he loves you with all his heart. The man renowned for his… clumsiness and cowardice. The man who ran away at any sign of trouble. He may not be all fake, but he is still the true mask. That is why I never minded you loving Zorro, since I am more like Zorro than like the Diego I have shown the world since my return from Spain."

"Why have you never told us?" Don Alejandro wondered, still under shock by the revelation, prompting his son's eyes to leave the face of the woman he loved, and turn towards him.

"Because it was safer." He answered. "Safer for the two of you, and safer for me and Felipe. I was putting on an act, Father, and you reacted to it as I needed you to react, in a way that would not give our esteemed Alcaldes any suspicion as to my second identity." Turning back towards the young tavern owner, his eyes lingered a little more on hers. "I don't believe you answered, though, Victoria. Can you love me? The real me? The aggregate of Zorro and Diego, who spent so much time deceiving you and everyone else? Do you still want to marry me?"

"You asked Victoria to marry you, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked.

"I did, Father. There's no one else I would even consider marrying but her." He confessed, and Victoria's face brightened as she took a few steps towards him.

"I once told you, you must never doubt my love." Victoria answered. "I am in love with Zorro for he is passionate and brave and can do no wrong in my eyes. And I love Diego because, despite his clumsiness, he is good, compassionate and has always stood up for me. Because he has always been my rock, my friend, my family. I have often imagined Zorro's face, and many times I found myself hoping it would resemble Diego's, but I never even dared hope that Zorro was my Diego." She took a break after she said that, as if trying to take in her own words. "There is not a shred of doubt in me that I want nothing more from this life than to be your wife." She added, her voice trembling but sure, her eyes filling with tears.

"And I wish for nothing more than to be your husband, Senorita Escalante." He assured her with a huge smile, as he headed towards her and, cupping her right cheek with his hand, kissed her more passionately than he had ever kissed her before.

Don Alejandro thought for a moment whether to do anything to put an end to his son's sudden display of passion for the young lady he considered as a daughter. It seemed strange to him. But, then, he remembered that his son was Zorro and there was nothing strange about the love shared by Victoria and their masked hero. They have been waiting long enough to be together. I'll give them a minute. Perhaps that will get me my grandchildren a little bit sooner. He thought with the same mischievous smile Zorro had so often wore when defeating the Alcalde.

Leaving the two young people to show their love for each other, his attention was drawn to Felipe, who was petting the neck of a certain black stallion, and his fantasies about grandchildren were soon replaced by fantasies about the beautiful offspring that horse might produce.

"You already have one of his offspring, Father." Diego told him when he was finally able to take his eyes off Victoria, and found himself amused at the interest the old don was showing for Tornado.

"He does?" Don Alejandro asked, him main taking an inventory of his horses. "Luna! The young mare! I always thought she looked a lot like Zorro's horse! I could never understand it!"

"Indeed. And from what I saw so far, Luna is quite a challenger for her father." Diego confirmed with a smile, as he directed towards Don Alejandro, his hand intertwined with Victoria's.

"Is that why you have always convinced me to refuse every offer to sell her?" Don Alejandro inquired.

"It is one of the reasons." Diego conceded. "I also thought she would make a nice wedding present for Victoria". He continued.

"But she is two years old already! Since when exactly have you been planning wedding you are talking about, Diego?" His father asked, turning towards the pair.

"She accepted to marry me a year ago." Diego answered, resting, again his eyes on Victoria's face. "But the truth is I have been planning our wedding for much longer than that. Three years ago, when Luis Ramone died at the Devils Fortress, I thought I might finally have the chance to stop ridding out as Zorro. The chance to be with the woman I loved, to have a family, without endangering anyone's life with my actions. It's why I decided to allow for Luna's procreation, which was quite risky considering I was justifiably convinced that any of his foals might bear a strong resemblance with Tornado. We were lucky De Soto never stopped to consider the reasons for that resemblance when he saw the mare, last year."

ZZZ

The noise from the guns had long since faded when they finally realized it was safe to return to the hacienda. They found most of the rooms to be in a rather pitiful state. The piano and much of the furniture had been destroyed, there were bullet holes in the walls, and blood on the floor, but they were all alive and uninjured. Just as they were making their way towards their rooms, examining the damage, De Soto entered and, just like them, stopped in his tracks.

"Where have you come from?" He asked, noticing that Diego's hand was firmly holding Victoria's, in what was, by no means, a friendly manner.

"We hid when we heard the gunshots." Diego replied.

"Hid? Where? We checked the entire house twice." De Soto questioned.

"We were not in the house. We left through the back door, and made our way to an abandoned farmhouse nearby". Diego informed him, as his father was contemplating the easiness with which his son was able to come up with untrue answers to the Alcalde's interrogatory. "But that is not important, Ignacio! Do you know who were the men who attacked us, and why they did it? Were there any casualties?"

"Oh...Right." De Soto answered, not very convinced by Diego's replies, since his men were still surrounding the hacienda, but deciding to drop the subject for the time being. "Twelve bandits worth over 10.000 pesos in reward money." He answered. "Unfortunately, two of my men, including Sergeant Mendoza are dead because of them. I will make it my mission to see them all hanged for that, in the morning." He added, then greeted and made his way out. Felipe followed him to lock the door.

Diego bowed his head, his face filled with sorrow.

"Mendoza" He uttered. "I forgot about Mendoza."

"It is not your fault, son!" Don Alejandro encouraged him. "You cannot save everybody, and we needed you here!"

Diego just looked towards him and smiled, a forced, sad smile. Then he put his arm around Victoria's shoulder and, followed by his father and Felipe, walked her to her bedroom. Not wanting to intrude on them, Felipe made sure to disappear fast from sight, and Don Alejandro soon followed his grandson's example, bidding them goodnight and entering his quarters.

"Are you alright, Diego?" Victoria asked as they were embracing outside her room.

"No, I am not." He confessed, as she buried her face in his chest.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" She asked him.

"Stay with me? I would want nothing better than for you to stay with me. Tonight and every night from now on... But I am not sure..."

"Then I will stay with you." She decided. "Just let me change into my nightgown, and I will be right back."

"Victoria!" He tried to protest, although he really needed to feel her in his arms. "We are not married yet. That would not be proper."

"But we are engaged to be married, Diego!" She assured him. "And I see nothing wrong with a fiancée consoling her future husband when he needs her. We will just have to be careful in the morning not to be seen." She added with a smile.

Not waiting for his reply, Victoria hurried into her room and returned in her nightgown, wearing a blanket around her shoulders. Diego made sure they were not being overheard and led her to his room. Once there, he took another blanket and, allowing Victoria to choose her side of the bed, he made sure to cover her up, put the other blanket in between them, and climbed on the empty side of the bed, using his blanket to cover himself. He then took her in his arms and they fell asleep like that, her head resting on his chest.


	6. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 6

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly and looked to his right. Victoria wasn't there. Had it all been but a dream? It certainly did not seem like it. He could still remember feeling her presence in his bed, her hair caressing his shoulder, her scent. Probably just a dream...A beautiful dream of falling asleep with Victoria in my arms. He told himself. "It must have all been but a dream, right?" He slowly uttered as if trying to convince himself.

Slowly, he got off his bed, checked what time it was, put on one of his blue suits and a white shirt, then made his way towards the kitchen to ask Maria for his breakfast to be served in the patio. He drank his coffee and ate an omelet while reading one of the new books he had bought during his most recent visit to San Pedro. By the time his father joined him, he had already read about 100 pages, nearly a quarter of his new book, and he had already finished his meal.

"Good morning, Diego!" His father greeted, still surprised to see his son up so early in the morning, despite it being a scene that tended to repeat itself for over three weeks.

"Good morning, Father!" Diego replied. "Do you, by any chance, know if Felipe is up, yet?"

"Felipe? Yes, I saw him heading towards the library. What is it with you two and your fascination for that room, Diego? If I didn't know better, I could swear the boy is actually your son!"

"What did you just say, Father?" Diego asked, suddenly raising his head.

"I was just saying that Felipe's fascination with the library, might make one believe he was your real son." Replied Don Alejandro

"Right." Said Diego, abandoning his book and taking a concerned look. "Father, what day is today?" He asked.

"Today? Tuesday, January 23rd. Why are you asking, Diego?"

Diego stood still and gave no reply. His father, intrigued by his son's behavior, kept one eye on him and one on the fork he was using to eat his eggs.

"I think I need your help, Father," Diego realized after five minutes of silence, just as Felipe was sitting down for breakfast.

"Of course, Son! What troubles you?" Don Alejandro replied.

"Not here. After you are finished, both of you should come join me in the library!" Diego demanded as he got up from the table. "Felipe, I will need you as well." He said in passing as he was re-entering the hacienda.

He headed for the library, and sat on one of the couches next to the fireplace, trying to remember everything about the day he realized was relieving over and over again. For a little time that morning, it somehow felt again like a dream. But it was not. Some ten minutes later, his father and Felipe arrived.

"Here we are, Diego! How can we help you?" Don Alejandro inquired.

"Not here." His son answered. "Follow me!" As he said that, he made sure there was no one else around and made his way through the sliding panel of the fireplace.

Don Alejandro followed, amazed to see the secret entrance, and feeling like Aladdin entering the cave in search of the magic lamp, while Felipe was overwhelmed by inquietude as to the effects the sudden revelation would have on the old don.

As they arrived in the main room, Don Alejandro rested his eyes on the laboratory Diego had installed there and headed towards the tubes and vases wondering what in the world was his son studying. He wanted to ask when he heard a horse neighing and turned to his left to see an all-too-familiar black stallion. He focused on the horse, and made his way towards him, studying the impressive animal.

"Why is Zorro's stallion in a cave under my hacienda, Diego?" He asked, turning towards his son and noticing, in passing, Zorro's black clothes.

"Tornado is here because he is my stallion. And I am Zorro, Father." Diego replied as Don Alejandro was looking at him in disbelief.

"You are Zorro? How…? When…?Gilberto was right?" He mumbled.

"He was. I'm Zorro." He started, impatiently trying to get the explanations out of the way. He needed his father focused on the task ahead. "I created Zorro to fight against the Alcalde. I can fight. In fact, I bested Sir Kendall before leaving Madrid. I am an expert horseman, I am a good tracker, I do not get sick that often, nor do I take so many trips as I made you believe. Well...let's just say I did my best to pretend to be as different from Zorro as one can be, so that nobody would suspect me of being him. I am sure you might have many questions, and I will answer them in due time but, right now, I need your help, and I need you to stay focused."

"I...I see...Felipe..." Replied Don Alejandro suddenly realizing the young man was in the room and was by no means as surprised as he was by his son's revelation.

"Felipe has been helping me since I created Zorro. He was my test subject, you might say – I thought that if he does not recognize me with a mask, no one will. And, so far, no one has. My son has also saved my life more times than I remember." He added, gazing at Felipe with gratitude.

"Yes...of course." Uttered Don Alejandro, while shifting his gaze between his son and his adopted grandson, his face betraying a deep shock at the revelation.

"Father, I know this is a lot to take in, and I wish I could have done this a different way. Come, sit at my desk! Do you need me to get you anything? Some water, maybe? A glass of wine?"

"I thought you don't drink wine." Don Alejandro underlined.

"I don't" confirmed Diego. "Zorro needs a cool head if he is to stay ahead of the Alcalde, the lancers, the bounty hunters, and the bandits in the area. But there is some wine in the library and Felipe can bring you a glass. Felipe!" He nodded towards the young man who checked the spying hole, and hurried up the stairs, returning in less than a minute with a glass of red wine.

"How...how did he know to bring me that? You had your back at him..." Don Alejandro asked after finishing the glass in one sip.

"Felipe can hear." Diego informed him.

"I need another glass." The old don decided.

"Father, another glass will not help you help me. I need you to counsel me on what to do. It is very important, Father, and we don't have much time."

The old don stared at Diego, then at Felipe, eventually resting his eyes on the desk.

"Of course! How can I help, Son?" He asked, trying to come to terms with all the new information which had turned his world upside-down in only a few minutes. That was not what he had expected when he had entered the library.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Diego considered. He is barely dealing with the fact that I am Zorro, and I am about to have him help with something I, myself, don't understand.

"Alright." Here we go! "Father, I seem to be reliving the same day over and over again, and I don't know how to make it through it, saving everyone."

Don Alejandro stared at him, considered his words, and begun laughing.

"I see!" He replied. "So this is your idea of a joke, Diego? Making me believe you are Zorro, and then coming up with this nonsense. Really, Son! What has gotten into you?" He added as he was standing up, ready to leave.

"I am very serious, Father!" Diego replied angrily this time. "Here! I'll prove it." He said, taking off his shirt, and letting his father see a scar on his left shoulder. Don Alejandro examined it, realizing it was the one left by a bullet he had, not long before, removed from Zorro's shoulder.*

The moment he saw the scar, the don fell back into the chair as if struck by lightning.

"You really are Zorro!" He decided.

"I am, Father. I am not lying, nor am I pretending with you anymore, and I haven't lost my mind!." Diego answered, all his previous anger dissipating. "We will have time to clarify everything later. Right now, I need you to believe everything I tell you, and I need you to help me find a solution to all of this."

"I believe you, Diego." Don Alejandro assured him. "I am here for you, Son."

"Father, for you and Felipe, this is the first time you live this day. For me, however, it is not. The day is repeating itself. I have already lived it 5 times, this is the 6th. Every time, people die. First it was Victoria, myself, Mendoza, and many other people. It was during an attack on the tavern and I could do nothing to stop it. The second time, it was Felipe and three other innocents who died, and I killed all the men responsible in an act of revenge. The third time, it was you and half of the lancers. You died right there," he indicated towards a corner of the cave "in my arms, and the doctor arrived too late to do anything. The fourth time, some of the lancers were killed, and I was mortally injured; the fifth time, it was Mendoza and some of the lancers. Every time I wake up it is the same day, the same hour in the morning. I do things differently – I managed to prevent the attack on the tavern by having Victoria closing the place down. I managed to ensure the arrest of the bandits, but they always escape and attack the hacienda. And no matter what I have done so far, this last outcome, I cannot seem to prevent. If they escape, they kill people, and they always escape. And the day always starts over."

"It is quite a story, Diego." He considered his son's words for a few minutes. If it was anybody else telling him such a story, he would have believed the man to be crazy. But this was Diego, his son, Zorro. He was not mad. He had just shared his greatest secret because he needed his father's help. So his father would help. "I can't imagine remembering how it feels like to die. I am glad I don't remember what you say..." Don Alejandro remarked, pondering over the idea of seeing his son dying, and being grateful for not having any recollection of such events. "And you believe that, if you fix whatever goes wrong, if you make sure those men stay in prison, and everyone lives through the day, it will just stop repeating itself?" Don Alejandro asked.

"I do, Father. At least, it is the only way I can see an end to all this."

"I understand." The old don agreed, his hands joined, supporting his head. "But have you considered that this might have nothing to do with us at all? What if there is something else at work here? Some other reason why this is all happening…"

"What do you mean, Father?" Diego wondered.

"I don't know... Perhaps nothing... You are probably right. We should start working on a plan to prevent the attacks and make sure there are no victims. And if we fail, I guess you will remember just why we failed, tomorrow. Diego!" He suddenly exclaimed. "If tomorrow you wake up and it's the same day, I will not remember any of this, will I?"

"No, Father. In fact this is the fifth time you came here and found out I was Zorro". Diego confirmed.

"I see. And if it was not for this strange day, would you have ever told me, Diego?"

"No, Father. At least not until it was safe. Until there was no need for Zorro to ride anymore."

"I wish I could say I'm disappointed." Don Alejandro confessed. "Some part of me wished I had known sooner so that I might have helped with your plans. I would have enjoyed that, I think. But, on the other hand, it was probably be for the best that I didn't know. I don't believe I could stand and watch while the lancers shoot at Zorro, knowing it is you under the mask. I might even betray you somehow. You certainly seem to have a much better control of yourself than I ever did. But, Diego, even if I don't remember tomorrow and you decide to never tell me again, know that I am very proud of you, my boy, and I am very sorry for all the mean things I have said to you since you've returned home. You're certainly no coward, my son, and I am very sorry for ever stating that… and a few other things."

"You need not apologize, Father. Your remarks may have hurt sometimes, but I always knew that you would not feel that way if I had decided to tell you the truth. I brought it on myself, if I am to be honest." Diego replied, smiling as he saw his father's eyes filled with pride.

The rest of the morning they spent planning on how to tackle the attacks. As during the previous days, Zorro asked Victoria to close the tavern and head for the hacienda. He also made sure that the bandits were in jail by the time of the siesta, and the Alcalde was informed about the attempted escape and about the number of accomplices planning to break them out of prison. He was also informed about the reward for the bandits, since Zorro felt he needed to give De Soto and his men an extra incentive.

In the afternoon, the De la Vegas insisted on returning to town with Victoria, and took rooms at the tavern for the night. They also made sure to share their dinner with Mendoza and some of the lancers, and to inform them that they were staying in town overnight, in order to keep an eye on Victoria. Obeying a note left by Zorro on her pillow, Victoria closed the tavern at 10 pm and hurried to lock herself in her room, after she made sure to also inform her friends about the warning, asking them to follow her example. Creeping out of his room, Zorro, followed by Felipe and carrying some loaded muskets and his crossbow, made his way to the roof of the tavern.

Once there, they watched how the dark figures of four men climbed the roof of the cuartel and split up. Unwilling to take any chances, Zorro shot an arrow and injured the man entering the Alcalde's office through the roof window, his screams alerting the lancers inside to his presence.

A few moments later, Felipe shot at one of the men attempting to kill the prison guards, while Zorro fired an explosive-charged arrow to the back of the jail, thus attracting some more lancers that way. Finally, Felipe fired once more at the man on the roof of the armory, drawing enough attention as to lead to the final capture of all the gang members.

As soon as he was sure the thugs had been captured, and there was no chance for the prisoners to escape, they left the muskets and the crossbow on the roof and hurried towards their rooms in the tavern. There, they rapidly changed into their nightshirts, hiding the black clothes and Zorro's weapons in the kitchen's higher passage.

The moment Diego got down after hiding them and hurried to put back on his blue robe, the tavern's door was forced open by De Soto, who came in with the lancers in search of Zorro. Victoria and Don Alejandro came out of their rooms at the same time when hearing the commotion, while Diego came out of the kitchen, innocently carrying a glass of water, and pretending to be shocked by the intrusion.

"Search everywhere! Leave no stone unturned!" De Soto ordered. "He must be here, somewhere!"

"Who are you looking for, Alcalde?" Diego asked at watching with some well-hidden amusement as the men ran around the tavern, looking for Zorro under the benches.

"Where is Zorro, Senorita Escalante?" De Soto ignored Diego, addressing the young woman instead. "I know he is hiding here somewhere! Men, check senorita's room! Thoroughly."

"He is not here, Alcalde! I have not seen him this evening!" Victoria protested, closely following the lancers who were invading her room.

"What was with the gunfire and the explosions, Ignacio? What's going on?" Diego wondered.

"Zorro, again! He almost blew up the armory." De Soto replied.

"Really? Perhaps coming to town has not been the best idea, after all, Father!" He commented as Don Alejandro was fighting a heroic battle to contain a smile threatening to disturb his uncharacteristically calm face.

"I do believe you might be right, Son! But it is the middle of the night and, since it didn't blow up, I don't believe we are in any more danger, are we, Alcalde?" He replied, surprising himself at discovering a hidden acting talent he was previously unaware of possessing.

"Well, since I doubt I will sleep after all this commotion, how about I make some tea for everyone while the Alcalde and his men search the tavern?" Diego suggested, returning with his now empty glass to the kitchen.

Felipe faked sleeping on his feet while going down to the main hall as the lancers were searching his room.

"Diego is making tea, Victoria! Would you like some?" Don Alejandro inquired as she was angrily following the lancers, still protesting about the search.

"Diego is making tea? Ay Dios! Considering how prone to accidents he is, he will burn himself! I will make tea, Don Alejandro!" She declared, and she rushed towards the kitchen, dressed in her nightgown and covered with a red velvet robe Zorro had once given her. "Diego, get out of my kitchen, and just wait for the tea! I will bring it!" She ordered once there.

"Alright, Victoria! I apologize! I did not mean to upset you!" He replied, lovingly watching how beautiful she looked when she was angry.

She calmed down as she saw his innocent smile and assured him he'd done no wrong and that she'll soon be bringing their cups of tea to the taproom.

After making sure to firmly close the entrance again as soon as the intruders had left empty-handed, the tall caballero joined his father and Felipe, who were already sitting at one of the tables.

Don Alejandro could not help but laugh silently at realizing how easily Diego had managed to fool the Alcalde, and he could hardly utter a word for some five long minutes while Diego was watching him with some amusement.

"That was close, Son!" He finally managed to say. "I don't know how you managed to pull that off for nine years, Diego! But I must say… the expression on De Soto's face: priceless!"

"What?" Victoria asked in a shocked voice at hearing the old don, as her gaze rapidly moved between Diego and his father.

"Almost a day! Congratulations, Father! Are you going to wait till tomorrow to tell the Alcalde, or should I just give myself in tonight?" The De la Vega heir asked with some indignation in his voice as Don Alejandro's smile faded, realizing his son had been right in keeping his secret.

"You are...Zorro, Diego?" Victoria asked, her hands shaking.

Diego, realizing the effect the news had on her, stepped forward to help with the tea, just in time to prevent the integrity of her soft skin being threatened by the hot water in the cups she was carrying. He took away the tray and placed it on the table, then returned to Victoria and put his arms on her shoulders.

"Are you alright, Victoria?" He asked her.

"Are you Zorro?" She inquired back, staring at him.

"Yes, Victoria! I am Zorro." He answered and, realizing she was not completely convinced, he added "It is me you have accepted to marry the day I took you to the cave and gave you my mother's ring."

Victoria's eyes grew bigger and filled with tears.

"You? I am engaged to you, Diego?" She tried to confirm if she had heard right.

He just nodded and looked into her eyes. After the initial shock passed, Victoria started to smile, cheerfully gazing into his eyes.

"You!" She said eventually. "Of course, you! Whom else would I marry?"

Diego just smiled back and led her to the table.

When they went to sleep, Diego walked her to her door and kissed her hand before she shyly entered her room. He returned to his bed with a big grin on his face, and fell asleep dreaming of the woman he would soon call his wife.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

* This is a reference to my story A Close Call in which Zorro takes a bullet destined for his father, and Don Alejandro helps him by taking out the bullet and stopping the bleeding.


	7. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 7

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego realized instantly that he was not at the tavern but in his room. He looked around. Everything was the same as it had been the previous morning and the five ones before that. He just needed a confirmation, so he got out of bed, put on his robe and headed for the kitchen.

"What day? It is Tuesday, Don Diego!" Maria told him.

"And the date? Do you know the date?" Diego asked impatiently.

"I believe it's the 23rd of January." She replied.

"Of course it is!" He answered and headed for the cave.

Felipe joined him about an hour later. By that time, Diego had put in writing all he could remember from his previous experiences reliving that dreadful day. Well...the last two times were not that bad, if he was to be honest.

He barely noticed his son coming in, and did not make any effort to explain to him what he was doing. Felipe thought for a moment that he might have upset Diego and asked him about it, but his mind was soon put at ease.

"Let's have breakfast, Felipe! I will tell you all about this later." Diego decided and they made their way to the patio where Don Alejandro was already finishing his meal.

"Oh, here you two are!" The old don greeted them.

"Good morning, Father." Diego said with a rather sad smile at sitting down.

"Is there something bothering you, Son?" His father asked at seeing the look on his face.

"Actually, there is." Diego answered after some hesitation. He then took a deep breath trying to decide on what to say next. "I...I have decided to write a story." He begun. "And I have an interesting premise, but I cannot figure out what to do with the characters next."

"Now you've decided to become a writer, Diego?" His father asked with some amusement in his voice. "Well, you have certainly read enough stories...And what is this interesting premise you are considering, if I may ask?"

"My premise... is that my...heroine keeps reliving the same day but she is the only one who remembers it."

"Reliving the exact same day? That won't be much of a story, Son. Maybe for a chapter, but then it would just repeat itself, won't it?"

"No...not exactly. Because each time he… she relives it, she tries to change something, leading to very different results. That means that the day starts the same but ends up differently, depending on her actions."

"I see...I have to say, Diego, maybe the idea does have some merit..."

"Thank you, Father."

"So why are you sad?"

"Sad? No, I am not sad. It is just that I cannot figure it out. Let's say that, after a few tries, everything goes fine. She rights all wrongs. Has the perfect day…or as perfect as a very complicated day can be. I would not want to end the story there, though. So how does she react when the day still insists on repeating itself? Assuming that, from her point of view, the reason why the day keeps repeating itself is so that she can correct the things that had gone wrong in the first place."

"I see...Perhaps she starts with the wrong assumption?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe the day keeps repeating because she keeps wanting to change it? Or maybe because she changes the wrong things?"

"Like trying to save a life but ending up saving the wrong one?"

"Yes...I suppose it would be something like that."

"You may be on to something, Father!" Diego ended the discussion after carefully pondering on the idea and got up, heading back inside the hacienda.

"You are not having breakfast, Diego?" Don Alejandro inquired after noticing his son had not touched any of the food on the table.

"I am not really hungry." Diego replied as he reached the door. "Father!" He asked, suddenly turning around "What would you do if a day kept repeating itself and you were the only one to know about it?"

"What would I do? Well, depending on the day, I guess. If, for example, I would have to repeat yesterday, considering how it went, I would probably put a bullet in my head after a few repeats. But, if I could relive a happy day, like the day of my wedding, I would certainly not mind a second, a third or any number of repeats. That was a very happy day, indeed, and I wouldn't mind holding your mother in my arms again." Don Alejandro answered with more than a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "What would you do, Diego? Read some more or work on some of your experiments, I suppose?"

"I don't know. I guess I would do what my heroine would do. Try to fix everything that went wrong. But perhaps you are right. I never did look at it from that point of view. If the day just insists on restarting anyway... You can do what you want and it wouldn't matter, since no one else will remember. But if you, accidentally, do the one thing you should do to avoid the day from restarting again, then at least make sure you get a good day."

"It is not exactly what I had in mind but I do see your point, Son."

"Thank you, Father. This conversation has been most useful!" He uttered as he headed towards the library.

Felipe found him pacing in the cave, and asked him what the strange breakfast conversation was about. Diego did not answer right away, too lost in his thoughts to even consider how to explain everything.

"I will be out for a while, Felipe!" He informed him when he eventually stopped pacing and, exchanging his suit for Zorro's black clothes, he mounted Tornado and left for Los Angeles.

Arriving at the tavern, he entered the kitchen and waited for the woman he loved.

"Victoria!" He whispered as she came in.

She startled for a few seconds but then she smiled back.

"Zorro! What are you doing here?" She asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"No. I just came to see you." He answered. "Can you ask Pilar to handle the clients and meet me in the stables? I want us to have a private conversation, and with the Sergeant and the Alcalde here it might not be so private after all."

"But they are not here!" She protested but, opening a little the drapes, saw the two men walking in. "How did you know?"

"Let's say I had a feeling. Stables?"

"Let me tell Pilar I am stepping outside, and I will meet you there as soon as I can!"

Victoria joined him five minutes later, after Zorro had made sure there was no one in their vicinity who could hear their conversation.

"Not that I am complaining about the visit, but I am beginning to worry!" She said. "You are acting strange today."

"Stranger than usual, I suppose." He answered with a grin. "I was wondering if I might convince you to elope with me."

"Elope?"

"Yes, Victoria. The truth is I wish for nothing more than for you to be my wife. So why wait? Just marry me today, and let's go away for a while."

"Marry you? Today?"

"Now. Just come to the church, and I will ask the padre to marry us right away".

"But...but what about your secret? How can I marry you when no one knows who you are? I don't even know your name. I don't even know your face! And don't we need witnesses? They would also know, if we get married!"

"Yes, you are right." He confirmed as if the issue hadn't crossed his mind before. "Well, for one, you do know me. Rather well. We see each other almost every day. And you certainly know my name."

"I do?" She asked.

"Yes, Victoria. As for the witnesses, just not to take any chances, I'll ask my father and Felipe."

"Your father and... Felipe?"

"My son. Felipe"

Victoria looked at him incredulously. Did he just confess to being Diego de la Vega? She wondered.

"Do you understand who I am?" He asked her.

"You can't be!" She protested. "That's impossible!"

"Because Zorro has something that I do not have?" He quoted the words she once told him as she was addressing Diego. "Think about it, Victoria! Zorro just happened to appear the same week I returned from Spain. I am frankly amazed no one summed that up yet. Glad, but still amazed."

"Take off the mask!" Victoria ordered and, after checking around one more time to make sure they weren't being watched, he obliged her. "Diego!" She whispered as she was coming to terms with the unexpected revelation.

"Marry me?" He asked.

Victoria just stared at him, completely lost in thoughts for several minutes, focused on his face, as if seeing it for the first time.

"I need to change. I don't want to get married in these clothes." She eventually answered as a smile started brightening her face.

"I need to get my father and Felipe. Maybe put on a suit. No reason to make it easy on everybody." He told her with a smirk after putting his mask back on.

"No. No point in that!" She confirmed, her eyes inviting him to kiss her.

"Victoria!" He whispered just as their lips parted. "My father doesn't know I'm Zorro. Let's keep it that way. He is terrible with secrets."

"And Felipe?" She asked.

"He is much better at keeping them." He acknowledged.

The marriage ceremony was a strange one. Don Alejandro had protested all the way there, and was only silenced by the loving gaze he saw in Victoria's eyes as he walked her down the aisle. Felipe couldn't come to terms with his father's sudden urge to marry, and Padre Benitez, while glad to perform the ceremony, had a hard time understanding why the woman he knew to be in love with Zorro, suddenly decided to marry - in secret - the man who seemed like the exact opposite of the one she loved.

Victoria informed Pilar that she would be away for a few days and refused to give any other explanation, when they all drove away in the carriage.

"Can you two explain what has just happened?" Don Alejandro inquired as they were on their way towards the hacienda. "Why would you get married to each other, and what's with the haste?"

"Let's just say I was tired of waiting for Victoria to give up Zorro, Father." Diego answered. "So I decided to give her an ultimatum, and married her before she had the chance to change her mind."

"Wait for her? How exactly were you waiting for her since you've never even courted Victoria? And an ultimatum? Why would you do that?"

"Diego just realized I needed a push, Don Alejandro." Victoria answered for him. "And he was right. I now see that my obsession with Zorro was just a way to hide my feelings for Diego. He was afraid I didn't love him and I thought he harbored only brotherly feelings towards me, so I went on pretending to love someone unattainable. We were both fooling ourselves and I am happy that Diego finally got the nerve to step forward. Although, I wouldn't have changed my mind about marrying him. No matter what."

"You did it once, Victoria." Diego replied seriously. "I didn't want to give Zorro a chance to come between us as it happened when you wanted to marry Juan."

"But what about Zorro, Diego? Have you considered him? What he might do now, Son?" Don Alejandro asked.

"Zorro will continue being Zorro. And if you're afraid for Diego, we all know he would never harm him, Don Alejandro" Victoria uttered. "He only wants what's best for me. In fact, he once even told me that I should marry and suggested Diego. He knows that he and I can never be. If I was ever to marry him, the Alcalde would have him arrested on the spot!"

"But you have waited for him for so many years, my dear! And now you want me to believe you suddenly decide to give him up and ... Oh, Dios! You did not give him up, did you? You just married him!" Don Alejandro exclaimed, feeling as if he was about to have a panic attack. "That's the reason for all the secrecy? You are Zorro, Diego?"

"Don't be absurd, Father! I am nothing like Zorro." Diego tried to calm him down.

"I...I would have believed that a year ago! But I saw you fight Gilberto! You told me he believed you to be Zorro, but I thought it was nonsense! It wasn't nonsense, was it?"

"I am not going to dignify that train of thoughts with an answer, Father!" Diego simply stated. "Seriously, what's more believable to you? That I am Zorro, and somehow managed to hide that from you for 9 years, or that Victoria and I finally got the courage to surpass our fears and confessed we loved each other?"

The old don calmed down and considered his son's arguments for a minute.

"Alright, Diego! You might have a point there." He eventually replied "But I still find it hard to understand why all the secrecy and the hurry! Why not wait the proper amount of time? Dios! Victoria, you are not pregnant, are you?"

"Pregnant?" Her eyes grew big with a mixture of indignation and embarrassment. "Of course not!"

"Don't get me wrong, my dear! I do want grandchildren and the sooner they get here, the better, but..."

"I am not pregnant! I have never...I...I don't even know what I am supposed to do to get pregnant!" She admitted blushing.

"I'll show you later" Diego whispered in her ear, and she instantly turned a deeper shade of red.

"What was that, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked.

"Nothing, Father." He replied innocently.

"No. I know there is something you're not telling me!" Don Alejandro decided.

"You may think whatever you want, Father. The important thing is that your son is married to the woman he is in love with and who, by some miracle, loves him back."

"Fine. I know you are right! But if you are so decided to keep your secrets, at least make sure to give me those grandchildren, sooner rather than later."

"We will do our best, I assure you!" Diego answered with a mischievous smile on his face.

As soon as they arrived at the hacienda, Diego asked Felipe to keep on the premises and avoid the town, also instructing him to take his father to the cave in case there's any trouble. Then, he saddled two horses, packed a minimum of clothes, took some money, and left with Victoria for Santa Paula.

"Not that I'm complaining, but how did you know what to do, Diego?" Victoria asked him later that evening, in their room, while resting her head on his bare chest.

"I do know how to make babies, Victoria." He answered with a grin.

"So I am not your first?" She questioned with some disappointment.

"No, my love. But you are certainly my last!" He answered.


	8. January 23rd, 1821/ Day 10

It was seven in the morning and Diego was all dressed up and pacing the floor in the corridor before his father's bedroom. He finally decided to leave a note, rather than wait any longer.

Returning to his room, he simply wrote: "Dear Father, please take Felipe and meet me at the chapel's back entrance at 8:00 am. Diego" then placed it in a sealed envelope and instructed Maria to give it to his father as soon as he woke up or, at 7:30 at the latest, and made his way towards the pueblo.

He entered the tavern and headed straight for Victoria.

"Buenos dias, Diego!" She greeted him as he neared the bar.

"Hola, Victoria!" He replied, looking around the almost-empty tavern. "May I talk to you in private?"

She stared at him with some surprise but nodded. "Shall we go to the kitchen?"

"Outside might be better." He stated, already turning on his heel and heading towards the door.

Victoria shrugged, looked at Pilar, then followed him to the plaza and, from there, to the alley leading towards the back of the tavern.

"We could have taken the kitchen exit if you wanted to come here." She pointed out, curious at his behavior.

"I know. I take it rather often." Diego stated. "Look… I don't want to postpone this more than is necessary, so here it comes: I am Zorro. We have been engaged for over a year now, ever since I took you to the cave and gave you my mother's ring, and I would very much like to marry you today. Right now… Or, at eight, to be more precise… when my father and Felipe get here to serve as witnesses."

Victoria's jaw literally dropped as she was staring at him dumbfounded. "You're Zorro?" She asked when she regained her voice, a few silent minutes later. "Bu… But you can't be Zorro! You're Diego!"

"Yes. And I am also Zorro. It's not like you thought the man spent all his time in a mask, is it? And I know you love me, too… Don't ask how, but I do. Perhaps I will tell you later, on our honeymoon."

"On our honeymoon?"

"Yes. In Santa Paula. I will be taking you there after the wedding ceremony."

"You will?"

"Victoria… I know this is shocking. Which is why I came so early. Last time, we were late and Padre Benitez didn't like that! He didn't say anything, but I know him rather well."

"Last time? W… Who did you try to marry last time?" She asked nervously.

"You. I would only marry you… Trust me, I didn't lose my mind, although I had also thought I had for a while. It's just a very long and complicated story, which I will tell you after we get married. All you really need to know right now is that I love you with all my heart, and that I am the man you promised to marry, despite having made you drink that awful cactus tea; the one in whose arms you ran after you refused to wed Juan; the one whom you kissed in the courtyard that evening after you took a bullet to save me. I told you then that you should have a family and, perhaps, consider marrying Diego – sorry for the subterfuge, but it's not like I'd want you to marry anyone else."

"You're rambling!" She pointed out.

"Yes... It's just that I really want you to marry me."

"You really are Zorro, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Why are you telling me now?"

"Because, right now… I can. With no consequences, for some reason. As I said, it's hard to explain, but I will, anyway. On our way to Santa Barbara, I will tell you everything!"

"We can really get married. Now? And you won't be in danger?"

"Yes… and no. I would never marry you if that would put us at risk! You must know that. But it must still be a secret, lest De Soto finds out and tries to stop us."

"Of course!" She answered, rolling her eyes as if he didn't need to point out something that obvious, then returned to stare at him. "Alright, Diego! I'll go change, and I'll meet you in church at… eight?"

"Yes. I'll go talk to the padre!" He agreed and was gone in seconds.

Victoria watched him go, then went to her room, changed to her best dress, packed a small bag of clothes, informed Pilar she'd be away for a few days but the De la Vegas would help if needed, then took her horse, left the pueblo and doubled-back to the church, arriving just in time.

ZZZ

Explaining the situation to his father was not easy. On the contrary. But the ceremony took place without anyone else accidentally finding out. After they returned to the hacienda, and his father and Felipe promised not to head into town that day, Diego left with Victoria, by carriage, to Santa Paula.

"Alright, Diego!" She decided as soon as they were on their way. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

"Yes. But, first, you must promise you will listen before deciding I've lost my mind. What I have to tell you… I still can't wrap my mind around it, and I'm the only one who seems to remember!"

"Remember what?"

"Just promise! Just say you won't jump out of this carriage as your instinct might tell you to, and that you'll try to believe that I'm telling you the truth."

"Of course I won't jump out of a moving carriage, Diego! And, of course, I won't believe you're mad, no matter how crazy your story might seem to be!" She assured him, yet soon regretted her words.

"Alright. Here it is." He uttered, looking straight ahead in order to avoid eye-contact with his wife. "Victoria, we are stuck in a time loop. Or, at least, it's what I call it. I don't really understand what exactly is going on. Perhaps we are all dead. That is also a possibility. Whatever the case, this day, 23rd of January 1821 has been re-starting, over and over again, for more than a week now. Every time I wake up it's the same day, and I'm the only one who seems to have realized that. The only one who remembers what had happened on all the other times we have lived through it. No one else. Just me. And I don't know how, or why, but I do know that, no matter what I do, it still ends up to be a horrible day for Los Angeles. Well... I did manage to save everyone at one point, but it was useless. The day started again, anyway. Right now, though, I've had enough. If I am to relive the same day, I've decided I'll take the opportunity to do the one thing I want most in the world: marry you. In fact, I have already married you three times before today."

When he finished, he turned his head towards his wife, waiting expectantly for her reply.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, fully realizing why he had made her promise she wouldn't simply conclude that he'd gone mad – which, obviously, he had - then resolved to keep her mind open, and trust that God had not decided to finally give her the man she had, for so long, waited for, just to take away his sanity.

"What happened the previous times this day repeated itself?" She inquired, not really expecting, but hoping his words would make sense and convince her he was still the man she knew and loved. Both of them.

"I can tell you, but it may shock you."

"More than the fact that my best friend is also the masked outlaw I love, or that he's reliving the same day over and over again?"

"Well… based on the reaction you had the last time I had told you…"

"Just tell me, Diego!"

"The first time… the real 23rd of January, started like any other day. However, during lunch, the tavern was attacked. You and four other people were taken hostages and… you were killed. Accidentally shot in the head. I was also killed, shot in the lung, and died next to you, about half an hour later. Ignacio was quite shocked when I took off the mask and asked him to get my father and Felipe so that I might say goodbye to them.

"The next morning, though, I woke up in my bed, and I thought it had all been nothing but a nightmare. Then my morning went on almost exactly as in said nightmare, and I realized it was something more. So, I tricked you into going to the hacienda, so that you'd be away from danger when the bandits were due to attack, but it all ended up in disaster, anyway. They took five hostages, and executed them as they left the pueblo. Felipe was one of them. So, in retaliation, I… as Zorro, tracked them down and killed them all. You and Father were in the cave when I got back. I think I had forgotten to close the hidden panel behind me. It's behind the fireplace in the library, by the way. The cave, I mean. De Soto also came in with Mendoza, and arrested me. The third time, I stopped the first attack but that proved to be an even worse mistake. The bandits had more accomplices and they destroyed the armory as they got them out. They killed some of lancers, the Alcalde, and then attacked the hacienda while I was in the pueblo. Felipe was alright that time, but they raped you and shot Father. He died in my arms an hour later. The fourth time, I tried to help the lancers prevent the jailbreak, but got shot and died instead. The fifth time I warned De Soto, but did nothing except for taking you, Felipe and Father to the cave, where we were all safe while they attacked the hacienda. Mendoza died that time. The sixth time, I told my father everything and we managed to come up with a plan to prevent both attacks. However, when the day started again, he pointed out that, when things are out of one's control, one must accept them as such and just make lemonade out of lemons. So, I decided to marry you, instead. Which is what I've been doing every day since." He recounted. "Oh.. and just so that you might believe me, when I first… well… the second time I took you to the cave – the first time you were in too bad a condition after what those men did to you – you told me something on the line of you being in love with Zorro for he is passionate and brave and can do no wrong in your eyes, and love Diego because, despite his clumsiness, he is good, compassionate and has always stood up for you. Because he has been your rock, friend and family. You also said that you have often imagined Zorro's face, and many times hoped it would resemble Diego's, but never dared dream that Zorro was your Diego."

"That last part is true…" Victoria acknowledged, pensively. "I saw you die, Diego? And I was raped? And killed? And you remember all this?"

"Yes. And it's not like I wouldn't wish to forget… at least, some of the things I remember. But it's not how this works, I guess."

"That is quite a story." She uttered in complete shock. "It's really true?"

"Yes. Please believe me! I would not be telling you all this if it wasn't!"

"So… This is the fourth time we've got married?"

"It is."

"Did we ever… consummated the marriage?"

"We did. I've been making love to you for most of the past three days and I love both that mole of yours and your birthmark."

Victoria turned red at his words and her breathing accelerated.

"If the day starts over again… will you do it again? Marry me? Make love to me?"

"Yes. Is that wrong?"

"No… I… I want that, too, Diego! I want to be yours but… what if this will happen for a long time? What if you get bored with me, before I even have the chance to remember anything even happened between us?"

"Bored with you? There's no chance of that ever happening, my love!"

"You promise?"

"I do. And I always keep my promises. Even if sometimes it may take me a long time to do so."

The next couple of hours of their journey they talked little, until they reached the abandoned windmill.

They exchanged a glance as Diego stopped nearby for a few moments, and smiled at each other.

"You were so proper when we spent the night there! Who would have thought that you were the man I have, for so long, wished to belong to?"

"I did give you a clue the following day. I couldn't help myself."

"Yes! I did think it was odd but then dismissed the idea of you being Zorro because the man you pretended to be couldn't possibly be him!" She chuckled. "I know now that you are, and still find it hard to believe it!"

Diego grinned and was about to get back on their way, when Victoria stopped him.

"Do we have blankets with us?" She asked him, still looking towards the white adobe building.

"We are sitting on them… so, yes." He answered. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking… It's hot enough today, and I have had… certain fantasies… about you, me... and that windmill. I might not be able to remember it… but you will. And you'll tell me all about it when we get married for real. Like… forever… when I'll finally be able to remember it! What do you think?"

"You want to make love in the windmill?"

"Yes." Victoria didn't even blush when she answered. Her mind was already made up, anyway.

Diego did blush a little. "Are you sure? I think it might be a bit uncomfortable." He told her.

"I think…" she told him "that you should guide the horses towards the windmill, then let them rest, make the fire and let me think about comfort."

"As my senora commands me!" Diego answered, and did as asked.

While Victoria was handling the… sleeping arrangements, Diego tied the horses with some long ropes that allowed them to munch on the nearby grass. Finding a couple of buckets, he then filled them up in a nearby stream, and left one for the horses, while the other one he took inside for Victoria and himself to wash in.

By the time he entered the main room, his wife had organized some hay sacks she found there to act as an improvised mattress, covering them with the blankets. She had also lit up some candles left behind by other people who had taken refuge there, and had already changed into her see-through nightgown, covering herself up with a shawl and doing her best to stop her body from trembling at the thought of what was about to happen between her and the man she loved.

Diego glanced at her once and ignored her while making the fire lest his urges would prevent him from performing even that easy task. When turned towards her, Victoria stared into his eyes, expectantly. He took the few steps needed for his chest to touch hers, and lowered his head to kiss her, slowly at first, then more and more passionately, until the clothes they both wore became unbearable. First fell her shawl, then his jacket, closely followed by his shirt, shoes, pants, socks, her nightgown and, eventually, his underwear.

About half an hour later, as Victoria's head rested on Diego's naked chest, she smiled and simply uttered that it had been wonderful.

She did the same the next day after they had first made love, as they were lying in bed in the tavern in Santa Paula; and the next, and many times after those, without ever knowing that Diego was simply becoming better at pleasuring her with every time he made love to her.

Truth be told, the first time it had been a bit awkward, even for him. He had only been with one woman before her, and that was both an accident – since he had been drunk at the time, and the lady in question, a brunette widow, reminded him of Victoria so much that he actually believed it was her he was spending the night with - and a most eye-opening experience – since he woke up the following day, firmly determined to never again drink more than half a glass of wine, if that, and only if absolutely necessary, and to never again bed a woman he was not completely in love with.

So, when he realized the opportunity he had been given, Diego made sure to remember all of Victoria's erogenous zones, what she loved and what she didn't like, how long he needed to last and how he needed to touch her. In fact, after the first ten times they married, he started approaching their lovemaking as a study. He did so in order to become the best lover she might ever want, since he was to be the only one she was ever going to get. Of that, he had no doubt. Thus, after consummating their marriages a few dozen times, he knew her body almost as well as he knew his. That knowledge only improved with time, and Victoria had no reason to ever complain.


	9. Window of opportunity

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 121

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I wonder where should I take her after we marry this time. He pondered. We've been to Santa Paula over 30 times, till I got bored of the place. The windmill was a good idea but it is rather drafty, and she did not seem to enjoy it as much. Although it was rather romantic... Perhaps a ship? What if she gets seasick? Perhaps not a ship. The cave? Not sure the smell would provide for the right mood. My room? With those bandits out there, and my father and Felipe outside the door? No, thank you! There might still be some other taverns in Santa Paula or in San Pedro. I should ask Father. Maybe this time I will confess to him that I am Zorro. Again. I should tell her without the mask, as Diego. No need to ride back and change. Yet, last time I did that, she took a little more convincing than it usually takes by just removing the mask. When has this become so complicated?"

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 352

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I love getting married to Victoria but this is becoming ridiculous. I wish the padre could consider something different to say from time to time. He is just repeating himself. I cannot stand it anymore. Perhaps I should just take her away and marry her somewhere else. Maybe I won't marry her today. I can just take her to a picnic at the beach. Sounds like a plan."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 428

Victoria was serving breakfast to a group of vaqueros when Zorro rode into town. Most of the lancers were preoccupied with their morning coffee, De Soto and some of his men hadn't even woken up, so he knew it was quite safe for him to be in the pueblo at that time.

Leaving Tornado in front of the tavern, he strolled into the building, picked the surprised Victoria up in his arms, and returned with her to the stallion. The three of them made their way out of the pueblo before anyone had the chance to react in any way.

Victoria relished the feeling of being held in his protective arms and didn't utter a word for several miles, until she finally summoned up the strength to ask him where they were going.

"To the Mission San Fernando Rey. We're getting married." He informed her.

"We are?" Victoria asked with wide eyes.

After about forty minutes of riding Zorro decided that Tornado needed a break. He guided the stallion towards a cave he knew, making sure to also erase their tracks on the way, then allowed him to munch on some grass while he was cooling down.

"Is there something wrong?" Victoria asked him as they dismounted and walked the few steps to the cave.

"Yes… and no." He answered. "Complicated is a better word. More fitting."

"How come you want us to get married now?"

"Because I love you and I can finally make you my wife, as I have wanted for a very long time."

"Nine years is a long time!"

"Not nine. Not for me." He told her, leaning on the cave's entrance, looking away from the woman he loved. "I have waited much longer than that. I've wanted to marry you, Victoria, since you were fourteen, but you were too young then. I would have taken you with me to Spain, if you had been even just two years older, or my father would have allowed me to postpone my studies. But you both insisted that I go. So, for four years I lived with the constant dread that you might be married upon my return, forever lost to me. I only considered marrying Zafira because my father wrote me that you were about to get married. I thought you were married by the time I received his letter.

"Fortunately, I didn't wed her and you were still unattached upon my return.

"I would have married you then. I had every intention to start courting you and make you my wife before the end of the year. But Luis Ramon was alcalde and you and Father got yourselves arrested the next day and the only way for me to do something about that was by putting on this mask." He told her. "This mask which has kept us apart all these years, although I have never really been too far away from you." As he said that, he took the mask off and turned to look at her.

"Diego?" Victoria asked, feeling her legs give in under her. He reacted quickly and caught her before she fell.

"Will you marry me, Victoria?"

She found it hard to breath. There was a part of her which hoped it was Diego under the mask, and that part, for too long silenced, was now screaming at her that it had been right. The caballero who had always been in her heart was also the man to whom she had given it. "Is this a dream?" Victoria wondered.

"No. It's something completely different. So? What do you say?"

"Yes! Of course, yes!" She answered, staring into his eyes.

Diego smiled. "I knew you were going to say 'Yes'. But a man has to ask anyway, right?"

After changing out of his black clothes and disguising Tornado by adding some white hair to his mane, Diego helped Victoria back in the saddle and headed for the Mission San Fernando. Once married, they returned to the hacienda through the cave.

At the time they arrived, Don Alejandro and Felipe were playing a game of chess in the library, but the hacienda seemed empty otherwise. Considering his alternatives, Diego took Victoria's hand and guided her through the sliding panel.

"Hello, Father! Felipe!" He greeted the two, almost causing Don Alejandro to have a heart attack.

"Diego! Where on Earth did you come from? And Victoria? What…" His voice faded as he noticed their joined hands.

"Buenas tardes, Don Alejandro!" She greeted. "Felipe!"

The younger man was looking at his father wide-eyed, unable to react.

"We don't want to keep you from your game, especially, since we have other things to do." Diego stated. "So, here it is: I am Zorro, I've kidnapped Victoria this morning, and we've gotten married. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be in my room for the rest of the day. Please be so kind to make sure we are not disturbed." He uttered and was about to leave.

"Stop right there!" Don Alejandro ordered. "What is this nonsense about you being Zorro, Son? Victoria, has he gone mad?"

"No. It's all true!" She replied with a happy face.

"Felipe can show you the cave and answer your questions, Father. He's been helping me since he was twelve. I'm sure you'd like to take a better look at Tornado, so go right ahead!"

With that, Diego was back on his way, Victoria glued to his hand. He carried her across the threshold in his arms, then proceeded to make love to her, not even bothering that they were being indecently loud and not at all inconspicuous. Nobody disturbed them.

23 February 1821/ Day 439

It was a beautiful day for a picnic. Diego was convinced of that, which was why he had invited Victoria on one.

He had walked into the tavern that morning, told her he needed to talk to her, and convinced her to accompany him, not taking 'no' for an answer.

They rode mostly in silence from the pueblo to the secluded lake where he had forgotten to have taken her on Christmas. He was pondering his words, and she was confused about his intentions.

"Why do we have to do this, Sergeant?" Gomez asked as he, Mendoza and Sepulveda were complying with De Soto's order to follow the two.

"Because the Alcalde believes Don Diego might be trying to help her meet with Zorro. Isn't that right?" Sepulveda asked.

"That is correct, Corporal. I wish he hadn't been in the tavern when Don Diego got there!" His superior agreed.

"You don't think Zorro will come?" Gomez inquired.

"Private, if Zorro wanted to meet the Senorita for a picnic he would have asked her himself, not involve Don Diego! And the Alcalde would have never found out, and we'd be having lemonade in the tavern rather than standing in this heat!" Mendoza replied.

"But what if he is Don Diego?" Gomez suggested.

Both Mendoza and Sepulveda started laughing. "Don Diego Zorro! That must be the funniest thing I've ever heard!" The Sergeant uttered amongst chuckles.

"What is this all about, Diego?" Victoria asked about a hundred feet in front of the three soldiers.

"I'll tell you when we get there and out of Mendoza's sight." He replied.

"Mendoza?" She inquired, turning to search for the lancer.

"Don't look! He and two of his men have been following us since we've left the pueblo. But it doesn't matter. It's safer for them to follow us than to remain in Los Angeles."

Victoria threw him a puzzled glance just as they neared their destination. Choosing a place from which he could properly keep an eye on the lancers, Diego took his saddle blanket and placed it on the grass, inviting Victoria to sit next to him. Next, he offered her an apple he'd just taken from the saddlebags. She looked at it and shook her head.

"Victoria, I'm Zorro." Diego simply stated, biting on the apple, as he looked towards the taverness.

"I'm sorry. I must have misheard you. What did you say?" She replied after a few moments.

"The Emerald ring you keep in your jewelry box was my mother's. I gave it to you when I took you to the cave last year to escape the bandits who had attacked your wagon on your way to Santa Paula."

Victoria took a deep breath as Diego lay on his back contemplating the clear-blue sky, then she looked inquisitively towards him. It took her about five minutes to be able to say another word, although she had said plenty in her mind.

"You mean… all this time… it was you? And you never told me?"

"I did, actually, and you've just forgotten. But it's a long and complicated story and I don't feel like repeating it today. So, my questions are as follow. One: Do you really love me, Diego, or do you just love Zorro? Two: Would you agree to a courtship from me if you didn't know I was Zorro? Three: Do you have any idea how I could court you without endangering you, my family and my secret?"

Victoria hesitated. "Of course, I love you, Diego… I just never realized you are… him… I…Yes… I mean, I said 'Yes' to the man behind the mask, didn't I? And the second question is meaningless since you've already told me you are Zorro. As for the third one, I'm sure you can find a way…"

Diego sighed. "Perhaps I should have approach this differently." He decided. "Do you want to go to the Mission and get married?"

Victoria stared at him more confused than ever, then nodded.

"Great! Just let me get rid of Mendoza and his men! We can go to San Pedro later for our honeymoon. Do you get seasick?"

23 February 1821/ Day 446

"Buenos dias, Victoria!" Diego greeted at entering the tavern.

"Hola, Diego!" She returned the greeting and was about to offer him some lemonade. Diego looked around and spotted De Soto. "A glass of tequila, por favor!" He asked the taverness.

Victoria gaped at him. "But… But you never even touch alcohol!" She stated.

"Not usually, no. I do feel the need for a glass today, though."

She poured him the requested drink, and Diego drank it all in one go, then waited for a few moments.

"Yes. I needed that!" He uttered, smiling at her, doing his best to keep in character.

"You did? Why?"

"Nervousness… Alcohol sometimes helps."

"What do you have to be nervous about?"

"I actually came here to ask if you'd be agreeable to courtship… as in me courting you."

Victoria's eyes widened and all conversations were silenced at the moment he posed the question.

"You, Diego? Why… But… But we are just friends… We've always been friends…"

"I'm afraid that's no longer enough for me. I'd rather be your husband."

"You want us to get married?" Victoria smiled at him, then remembered she was already engaged. "I'm sorry, Diego, but my heart already belongs to Zorro! You know that… You've… You've never said you had any feeling for me…"

"What if Zorro was gone? Would you agree then?"

"But Zorro is not gone, Diego!" She replied, getting a little angry at him.

"True. But what if he was? If he hadn't proposed, or if he was to take back the ring he gave you, would you agree to me courting you?"

"Ring? What ring?" De Soto asked from the table where he was sitting.

"His mother's. Gave it to her a while back." Diego summarized for the Alcalde, not even bothering to remember that the engagement wasn't public knowledge. "What is your answer?" He then proceeded to ask the taverness.

Victoria was looking at him very confused at that point, until the way he asked that last question clarified things for her. She stared a few moments, then glanced at the Alcalde and back at Diego, but had no idea how to answer.

The caballero realized she knew he was Zorro, a conclusion he had initially determined to prevent her from reaching.

"On second thought, don't answer that!" He stated as he saw the look on her face, and left the tavern, stopping on the terrace to reconsider his actions.

She was about to run after him when the Alcalde stopped her.

"So… you are engaged to Zorro!" De Soto remarked, an evil smile on his face. "That means you know who he is!"

"How could she? He never unmasked." Diego stated as he walked back in. "But, now that I gave that information away, I think the wise thing for you to do, Victoria, is to marry me and give Zorro his ring back, considering your engagement with the man can be used against him."

"You agreed to be his wife without knowing who it was you were supposed to marry?" The Alcalde asked, unable to believe his ears.

"I did!" She replied truthfully, then turned to smile towards the man she realized was her fiancé. "And I think Diego makes a good point. Now that you know I've agreed to marry Zorro, you may use me against him. I think I should marry you as soon as possible, Diego!"

"Great! Let's do it right now! I have no other plans for today." He answered and extended his right hand towards her.

Victoria hurriedly accepted it and they headed towards the church, most of the tavern's patrons following them.

De Soto watched the pair leave and followed at a slower pace, pensively smoothing his beard with one hand.

The surprise wedding ceremony was rather short, and the kiss the bride and groom shared at the end was more passionate than expected between friends.

"Don Diego," De Soto uttered as they exited the church, "allow me to offer you my congratulations… and to arrest you!"

"Arrest Don Diego?" Mendoza questioned. "Why, Alcalde?"

"Because he is obviously Zorro, Sergeant!" De Soto stated with a wide, wicked smile. "Finally, Senor! I have you in my grasp!"

As murmurs were being heard around them and Victoria looked terror-stricken, Diego inhaled, folded his hands across his chest and looked at De Soto defiantly.

"And what made you reach that conclusion?" He asked his former schoolmate.

"Well, for one, Senorita… excuse me, Dona Victoria was much too enthusiastic to marry you. Then there was that kiss you gave her. Not the kind usually shared amongst people who have never kissed before. And, thirdly, the fact that you knew about Zorro having proposed to her. Judging by the look she gave you, she never told anyone, and I doubt you overheard it if they were in his secret lair… in your secret lair, to be more precise."

"Thank you for the clarifications, Ignacio. Is that all?"

"Ha!" De Soto puffed. "It's more than enough."

"It's conjectural. Open to interpretation. Victoria married me simply because she wanted to get married. After all, she has even considered marrying you at one point, and I'm quite certain you are not Zorro. My indiscretion just made her realize that by not wedding another man she would endanger the one she loves. Plus, I am heir to a great fortune, able to give her a carefree life, and her best friend. Why wouldn't she want to marry me? As for Zorro's proposal, have you considered he might have been the one to tell me? He even convinced me to start courting her, since he finally realized he would never be able to wed her himself."

"Ah… Yes… But the kiss…"

"I can be a passionate man, Alcalde, when it comes to the woman I want."

De Soto's certainty that he was facing Zorro all but completely vanished.

"Now… If you'll excuse us, Ignacio, I'd like to take my wife home." Diego told him and, again taking Victoria's hand, they were gone before De Soto came out of his stupor.

"But… he must be Zorro!" The white-haired man uttered, addressing Mendoza who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you think he believed you?" Victoria asked as they were making their way towards the hacienda.

"No. Even if he did, he'll soon realize I confessed to having a close enough relationship with Zorro to allow him to confide in me. He'll come to arrest me soon enough. But I have no intention of wasting this day. You're my wife, and I'm going to make the most of it!"

"But… You mean… I might lose you? What do you intend to do?"

"About De Soto? Nothing, really. He won't remember anything by tomorrow. All I care about right now is that you are in my arms."

"Why have you never told me, Diego? We could have been together years ago! Before De Soto even put foot in Los Angeles."

"I hoped to tell you after Luis Ramon died, but I decided to wait until I was certain that there was no more need for Zorro."

"But Zorro is still needed. Why marry me now, risking your life, your fortune… everything?"

"Because, right now, I can do it without consequences. Plus, I am trying to see if there's a way for us to get married without others suspecting me. Unfortunately, this is not it. I'll have to think of something else tomorrow."

23 of February 1821/ Day 489

Diego walked into the tavern that morning, ignoring De Soto and Mendoza on his way in. Victoria greeted, as usual, offering him some fresh lemonade. He took the tray she was holding in her hands and placed it on the bar, put his left hand around her waist. Cupping her cheek with his right hand, he then leaned down to kiss her with more passion than he ever dared show as Zorro. She watched him do all that in slow motion, closed her eyes when his lips touched hers, then looked at him with the expression of a scared deer.

De Soto chocked on his food and Mendoza turned to see what had him so shocked, dropping his fork.

When Diego finally let go of her, he stood there, waiting for her reaction. Victoria stared into his eyes, then glanced furtively around and slowly turned, heading towards her kitchen. Diego folded his arms across his chest and slightly leaned on the bar, waiting for her reaction.

She came out of the kitchen a few moments later a threw him a puzzled look.

"You don't kiss a woman like that unless you want to marry her!" She told him.

"I very much do!" Diego replied.

"And it took you… what? Nine years to say so?"

"You know what they say! Better late than never!" He smiled charmingly at her. "Victoria, you need to get it into you head that Zorro will never be free to marry you. I, however, am. I might not be the pueblo's hero and I know you are in love with him, but am a man of flesh and blood, and all I want is to be your husband."

She let out an involuntary sigh at his words, recognizing what Zorro had once told her. Victoria already knew he was her masked man as soon as he kissed her, and his words were but a confirmation. One she still felt like she needed, anyway.

"If you want to marry her, Don Diego, you should do so as soon as possible, before that masked fiend finds out!" De Soto pointed out with a wicked smile.

"That's exactly my plan, Alcalde. If she'll have me, of course!"

"If…? I'll have you!" She answered a bit too overjoyed.

De Soto's face suddenly changed. "Wait… It's not you is it? Diego… You're not Zorro by any chance?"

"Please Ignacio! You think I'm Zorro?" He inquired dismissively.

Victoria could barely hide her dread.

The Alcalde stood up slowly. "I never noticed it before… You must be the only man in this pueblo tall enough to be Zorro! And you were… if I remember it right… the best actor in our theater group."

"So this doesn't work either…" Diego muttered. "Shame!"

Heading towards De Soto he punched him unconscious. "This is too beautiful a day for me to let you spoil it, Ignacio!" He said as Mendoza was watching flabbergasted. "I suggest you take him to the cuartel, Sergeant!" Diego advised.

"Bu… But… you, Don Diego?"

"Yes. I'm Zorro, Sergeant! Now, be so kind and step away. Victoria and I have plans."

With Mendoza too shocked to do more than get out of their way, Diego helped Victoria on Esperanza and took off with her, heading for the hacienda. There, he warned Felipe and his father that the place would soon be searched, and convinced them to hide in the cave, blocking the entrances after he and Victoria left on Tornado, heading for Santa Barbara.

23 of February 1821/ Day 501

It was ten in the morning when Zorro rode into the pueblo. De Soto and Mendoza came out of the cuartel as soon as they heard the lancers give the alarm, and so did Victoria.

"This doesn't concern you, Alcalde!" He shouted, just as the lancers were preparing to open fire. He quickly disarmed five of them with his whip, then jumped off of Tornado and overpowered those who made the wrong decision to attack him, leaving the men unconscious. De Soto and Mendoza hesitated, so he warned them again to stay out of it, then headed towards the tavern. "Senorita, we need to talk!" He stated, addressing Victoria.

"We do? But…" She stared at him somewhat confused.

"I know we've made a promise to each other but, unfortunately, I am no longer in a position to keep my promise. In fact, circumstances have forced me to marry someone else, recently… I owed you the truth… You are free to marry whomever you choose, Victoria. I am sorry…" With that, he remounted his stallion and left the pueblo before the taverness could even utter another word.

She watched him leave, then fainted.

Zorro made sure he wasn't being followed, then turned towards the pueblo and made his way to Victoria's room, entering it just as Pilar left at her employer's request. He reached the bed where she way lying, face-down, sobbing, without making any noise, then put a gloved hand to her mouth, preventing her from screaming.

"Victoria, it's me! It was just a ruse. I'm not married, and I have no intention of leaving you!" He hurriedly told her, and she instantly stopped any resistance and slowly turned towards him. "I needed to split with you as Zorro, so that I could court and marry you as the man behind the mask. There is no other way."

"And you couldn't have told me that before?" She asked, wiping away her tears.

"If I had, your reaction wouldn't have been genuine." He explained, then moved to lock the door.

"How do I know you are telling me the truth now? That you truly haven't married?"

"You'll know as soon as you'll know who I am."

"Does that mean… Does it mean you will finally tell me who you are?"

The black-clad man nodded. "Do you want to take off the mask or should I?"

"You mean that, Zorro?"

"Yes. I probably should have told you long ago." He uttered as he kneeled beside her bed and took her hands to the knot tying his mask.

Victoria hurriedly untied it and sighed as it slipped away, but didn't say a word. Instead, she pressed her lips to his, slipping from the bed and into his arms.

When they parted, she took one good look at him and smiled happily, then took her hands to his hair, messing it up as she started placing soft kisses all over his face. "Gracias a Dios!" She muttered in between the kisses.

Diego cupped her face to stop her, then gave her one more passionate kiss.

"I need to go now." He told her. "I will be in the tavern a little later, but remember you can't let anyone realize that you are not really grieving having lost Zorro, or that things between us changed in any way. Can you do that?"

Victoria nodded happily. "Can you stay a bit longer, though?" She asked.

"I'll never leave your side once we're married, my love!" He answered. "But, until that day comes, we need to be careful."

"Yes, Diego!" She eagerly agreed, then watched him put his mask back on and leave through the window.

About an hour later, Diego, Felipe and Don Alejandro walked into the tavern. Victoria was nowhere in sight, having decided it was better to remain in her room, pretending to still be crying her eyes out. In reality, she was ecstatic and, as a way to calm down, she was scrubbing the floors with the water from her washing basin.

The De la Vegas were informed by Mendoza about the morning's events, and Diego soon found a reason to excuse himself to go check on Victoria.

She opened the door to let him in and they were talking when they heard a commotion in the plaza. Gunshots soon followed, accompanied by a woman's loud scream. Diego exited the room and descended the stairs, Victoria on his heels.

"This was all your fault!" A young woman, whom they recognized as Honoria del Campo screamed at Victoria when they reached the front of the crowd.

The woman was kneeling next to the Cuartel's wall, cradling the body of her husband, Don Mario, a close friend of Diego's. The young don, five years his younger, had a similar build as him, but was about five inches shorter, had brown eyes and no facial hair. The five bullet holes in his chest were more than enough for Diego to understand the cause of his death.

"What happened?" He asked horrified.

"He was executed!" De Soto replied triumphantly. "Finally, I got rid of Zorro!"

"Have you completely lost your mind, Alcalde? Mario was no Zorro!" Don Alejandro informed him aghast.

"He's the only man in this pueblo to have recently married. Since Zorro has publicly confessed to have contracted matrimony this morning, and since Don Mario does look a lot like him, and couldn't account for his whereabouts at 10 a.m…."

"He was with me!" Honoria shouted. "I told you he was with me! Why did you kill him? He's done nothing to you!"

"You truly are a bigger idiot than I had ever thought it possible, Ignacio!" Diego uttered, barely containing his anger.

"Careful, De la Vega!" De Soto warned him. "There's no more Zorro to protect you. His mere absence speaks volumes!"

Diego eyed him defiantly. "You've murdered an innocent man, Alcalde!" He replied, but did no more than to return to the tavern, then followed Victoria to her room.

"What will you do?" She asked when they were inside.

"Nothing. Just learn." He replied sorrowfully, leaning, arms crossed, against the wall next to the door. "It just seems that nothing I do gets us any closer to solving this puzzle our relationship has become. Not without people either discovering my secret or getting hurt in the process, at least."

As he said that, his attention was drawn by a noise they heard on the stairs. Moments later, the door was pushed open as Honoria stood there, a loaded gun in her hands, pointing it towards Victoria. All Diego had time to do before she pressed the trigger was to put himself in the way of the bullet.

The taverness screamed as the piece of metal lodged itself into Diego's right lung. Honoria dropped the gun just as Mendoza and one of his lancers reached to restrain her.

"Doctor Hernandez!" Victoria shouted. "Get Doctor Hernandez! Diego! Please, Diego! You cannot die now! Please don't die!" She begged him, her eyes in tears.

He didn't find the power to speak but was aware that Don Alejandro and Felipe, as well as Victoria were all kneeling by his side, talking, as Mendoza was watching from the door, tears falling down his cheek. Then he let out one last breath and let darkness claim him.

23 of February 1821/ Day 502

Diego strolled into the tavern at eight in the morning, found Victoria alone in the kitchen, kissed her and asked her to marry him. She stared at him and nodded, then closed the tavern and followed him to the church.

All he felt like doing for the rest of the day was to hold her.

"I don't think the time for us to be together has come yet." He uttered when she was lying asleep in his arms. "But I'll keep trying, my love. One day, I will succeed."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 659

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I need a break. I should just stay home and read. I will visit Victoria as Zorro first to make sure she is not in the tavern when the bandits get there. I'll invite her to lunch. Mendoza as well. Perhaps I will not visit Victoria as Zorro, but as Diego. She might find it strange for Zorro to invite her to lunch at the De la Vega Hacienda."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 831

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I made love to Victoria over 1000 times. I am becoming quite an expert at that. Why do I feel so exhausted?

This day is killing me. I am starting to understand my father's idea of putting a bullet through one's head. Would suicide work? I die and the world might go on. I should give it a try! I will leave letters, just in case I actually succeed."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 832

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Suicide is not an option. Let's try death by bandits. Wait. Wasn't that how I died the first time? Perhaps I am in Hell and I am being punished by reliving this day over and over again. No...No version of Hell would have allowed me to be with Victoria so many times. Victoria. I haven't married her in a few days. Perhaps I should marry her today. Have a big wedding like she had always wanted. Invite the entire pueblo."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 833

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Note to self: I should remember that De Soto is not that stupid. Big wedding leads to sudden arrest. Spending night in jail is much less pleasant than spending it with Victoria."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 928

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Maybe I should spend this day with my father. He is always complaining we don't spend enough time together. I can tell him I am Zorro...again...I always like the face he makes when he sees the cave for the first time...again. Should I tell him the day is repeating itself and he just doesn't remember? What's the use? He will forget about it by the next morning."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 929

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Note to self: Father is not that fun to hang out with for more than half a day after he finds out I'm Zorro. The man has far too many questions. He also tries too hard to play matchmaker with me and Victoria during lunchtime, which is rather embarrassing especially since I have already married the woman almost 900 times. And Mendoza was there."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 960

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

I guess I will have breakfast in the tavern today. Just for diversity. Should I take Felipe? No...he always worries too much.

"Buenos dias, Senor!" Victoria greeted Diego as he neared the bar around eight in the morning, an unusual hour for him.

"Good morning, Victoria!" Replied Diego with a big smile and unable to completely disguise the love radiating from his eyes. "What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? Don't you usually have breakfast at the hacienda?" She inquired.

"Not today. Would you be kind enough to prepare something for me? Whatever you want. I always love your food." He complimented her.

"Of course, Diego!" She agreed with a grin, and hurried to cook something for her friend, returning back from the kitchen about 5 minutes later. "Here you are, Diego! Huevos rancheros, just as you like them!"

"Thank you, Victoria. You are most kind." He replied, eagerly enjoying his breakfast.

About half an hour later, he saw Mendoza and De Soto entering and, pondering on his actions, he decided to ask for a drink.

"I hope you have prepared a lot of lemonade this morning since it's already almost unbearably hot out there!" He told Victoria.

"Pilar is just preparing a new jar, Diego." She answered. "Nice and fresh just for you!"

"You know, Don Diego," started De Soto as Victoria brought him the jar of fresh lemonade and a glass "I've always found that the best morning drink for true men is a nice glass of Port. Don't you agree, Sergeant?"

"Port is very nice, mi Alcalde!" Answered Mendoza, more than happy to be consulted and feeling certain he had the correct answer.

"To each his own, Alcalde!" Answered Diego.

"That is true." De Soto agreed. "After all, men do come in all shapes and sizes. You know, Diego, I am sure some fencing lessons from Sergeant Mendoza might go a long way in getting you started in the right direction and, since I am feeling rather generous, I might even throw in some lessons with myself. I understand you would be highly outclassed, but I will do my best to go easy on you! What do you say?"

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, Ignacio." Diego answered. "But I am quite sure I would disarm you in less than 6 moves." He decided to challenge him.

"Disarm me? Really, Diego! I see you've found your sense of humor today!"

"Why don't I prove it, if you don't believe me?" He asked.

"Prove it? Is that a challenge, De la Vega?" De Soto laughed in his face.

"It most certainly is, Alcalde. I hope you are not afraid to fight me. At least you can be sure I won't kill you." Diego answered with a grin.

De Soto's smile faded as he saw that Diego was serious.

"Kill me? Diego, if you are seriously challenging me to a duel, I will make sure to give you a lesson you shall never forget!" De Soto said as his blood pressure was rising.

"On the contrary, Ignacio. If anyone will be giving lessons here, I can assure you it will be me!" The tall caballero answered.

"What are you doing, Diego?" Victoria inquired, protectively. "You cannot fight the Alcalde. You have no skill with the sword!"

Diego just smiled at her wickedly.

"Get up, De la Vega!" De Soto asked him.

"Alcalde, maybe Don Diego is not feeling himself today. Why don't you just let it go?" Mendoza tried to intervene as Diego stood up, asking the Sergeant to borrow his sword.

"No, Sergeant. I believe it is time to teach this arrogant a lesson!" De Soto replied as he turned on his heels and headed outside, Diego following him closely.

Once in the plaza, the two opponents saluted each other and took their positions. De Soto attacked and was easily parried twice, suddenly realizing he had underestimated Diego. Three more moves, easily controlled by his opponent, and De Soto's saber went flying through the air.

"What were you saying about being outclassed, Ignacio?" Diego asked.

"Lucky accident, Diego! Even a bad swordsman can sometimes get lucky!" Ignacio rejected the truth.

"Would you like a rematch, in that case?" Diego inquired while the plaza was filling up with people.

"En guard!" Ignacio uttered after picking up his sword.

This time it took Diego just three strikes to disarm him.

"How did you do that?" Ignacio inquired as Victoria, Mendoza, the other lancers and the people gathered there were watching open-mouthed.

"I may have downplayed my level of swordsmanship during the years." Diego answered him.

"So it's not something new? You were always this good, Diego?" Ignacio asked him.

"Let's say I had a good sword master in Spain." He answered, amused at De Soto's face.

"What sword master?" De Soto wondered.

"Sir Kendall. Bested him before I left." Diego bragged.

"You bested Kendall? He was never defeated!" De Soto retorted.

"The English lord who died here a few years ago?" Mendoza intervened. "The one who said you were the best student he ever had?"

"Kendall's best student, Diego? Why have you never said anything? You could have trained my men! Trained me! With your help I could have defeated that plague dressed in black..." Ignacio paused as soon as he thought of Zorro.

"I am not sure if taking you so long to realize why I haven't told you sooner is the result of denial, or just merely a compliment to my acting skills." Diego retorted when he realized De Soto finally put the pieces together.

"YOU! LAAANNNNNCEEEEERRRRSSSSSSS!" De Soto yelled.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 961

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Why have I never before thought about challenging De Soto to a duel as Diego? He was so sure he was going to win! The face he made when I defeated him so easily! I will never forget that! Perhaps have a repeat today, just to remember it better. Lands me in jail, but it is definitely worth it! Remember to take one of my own swords. Mendoza's rather low quality.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 978

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Maybe I should kill De Soto today. I've never done that before, but I am becoming tired of visiting the jail just for outmatching him in a duel every time I decide to take a break from getting married. I am not really eager to do it, but maybe that will stop all this nonsense. Should I kill him as Zorro, or pretend to accept his offer to take fighting lessons and "accidentally" kill him as Diego? No one will even doubt it was an accident.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 979

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Let's never injure De Soto again. That felt terrible. I couldn't even do the merciful thing and put him out of his misery. I hate seeing Mendoza crying.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 990

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Alright! The uncertainty is killing me. I must know!

"Buenos dias, Diego!" Victoria greeted him as he dismounted his horse in front of the tavern.

"Buenos dias, Victoria!" He answered

"Is that a new horse? "She asked, noticing the impressive black steed.

"Tornado? Of course, not! I've been riding him for years!" He replied as it was the most natural thing in the world for her to know that.

"Tornado? As in Zorro's Tornado?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm quite sure there's only one Tornado." He told her as he was putting a coin in the horse's teeth.

She stared at him dumbstruck.

"What are you doing with Tornado?" She eventually mustered the courage to return to her line of questioning.

"Oh! The money you mean?" He wondered. "I have a bet with Felipe. He says Tornado prefers carrots. I believe he prefers apples. So I decided to clarify the subject once and for all. I just can't stand not knowing for sure."

The two of them as well as other bewildered people in the plaza watched the horse heading towards the food stand, and give the coin to the surprised woman tending to it before selecting his snack.

"Apples!" Diego exclaimed. "I knew it! So, Victoria, what's for lunch today? Also, would you like to go to Santa Barbara to get married a little later?" He asked as Victoria was standing there, frozen, unable to cope.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 995

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

I must find a way to stop this day from repeating itself before I go completely crazy.

Maybe Victoria has an idea. She has good instincts. I will ask her for advice.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 996

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Note to self: More tact is needed in telling Victoria everything. Her punch can rival my own. Maybe I should take her away from town so we can discuss it properly.

Right. Let's try again.

"Buenos dias, Senor!" Victoria greeted Diego as he neared the bar around eight in the morning, an unusual hour for him.

"Good morning, Victoria!" Diego replied. "May I have a word with you?"

"A word, Diego? What about?" She inquired.

"Let's say it is complicated, but I promise to explain. In private, if you have the time." He told her.

"In private?" She wondered while deciding how to reply. "I always have time for you, Diego!"

"Join me on a picnic?" He decided to push his luck.

"A picnic? Just the two of us?"

"Why not? A break from work might do you some good!"

"Yes! Maybe you are right! It is not so crowded today, anyway. I will ask Pilar to look after the tavern." She agreed.

Diego took Victoria to the banks of a stream, not far from his hacienda.

"I need to talk to you, Victoria." He started. "I need your advice."

"My advice?" She wondered.

"Yes. It will sound strange and might make little sense in the beginning, but I just feel lost..." He started. "Maybe before diving into that, though, I should confess something."

"Confess something?" She inquired.

"Yes. I think I should confess that I am Zorro." He said, trying to get that revelation out of the way.

"You ...are...Zorro" She repeated.

Now I understand exactly how Don Fernando felt when he visited me. He considered while nodding his head to confirm she had heard right.

"And I have already told you this almost a thousand times. You just don't remember. And that is why I need your help." He continued.

"What? You...you can't be Zorro, Diego! Is this a game? Do you think this is funny? I would certainly know if you had told me that before!" She protested.

"No you wouldn't, and that's the problem. Victoria, I am Zorro. I am engaged to you. I gave you my mother's ring the day I took you to my cave."

"No...that's impossible!" She protested, oscillating between rage and disbelief, fighting the urge to flee.

"The first time I told you my secret you confessed to me that you had imagined many times what Zorro might look like under the mask, and you always hoped he would look a lot like me, 'your Diego'. You also told me I should never doubt your love."

"How do you know that? How can I not remember that?" She asked, studying him.

"That is where it becomes complicated." He continued. "You see, the reason why you don't remember is because we are reliving the same day, Victoria. The same day over and over again, and nobody but me seems to realize that. There is no tomorrow. Just today! And I don't know why this is happening and what can I do to stop it!"

Victoria just stared at him for a few minutes, not saying anything as if trying to determine if he was telling her the truth. He looked like Zorro. Same height, same eyes, same jawline. He knew about the engagement ring. About the cave. She knew how she felt about him. She had never told anyone any of those things.

"You are telling me the truth, Diego?" She asked, sincerely trying to believe him.

"I am, Victoria. Please! I need you to trust me. I need your help in figuring all this out." He begged her.

"Can you kiss me?" She asked. "If you really are Zorro, I will..." His lips prevented her from saying anything else. "Zorro!" She exclaimed with loving eyes and a smile, when they parted their lips.

"Yes, Victoria! Do you believe me now?" He asked her.

"I do, and I will never doubt you again!" She answered him.

"Yes, you will. But that is not the point." He answered and kissed her before she had a chance to protest.

"Will you marry me, now?" She teased him.

"No. Not this time. This time I need your help. If the day repeats itself, I will marry you again next time." He assured her.

"Again?" She asked.

"Ah… yes." He confirmed. "I didn't exactly keep count, but I believe I already married you over 900 times." He added. "You just don't remember."

"You married me 900 times? And I don't remember? Wait...did we..."

"Consummate our marriage? Yes. Not that you'd remember that, either!" He replied with some annoyance in his voice.

"You mean...you and I...you..." She blushed, unable to continue.

"You have a funny mole on your right breast, and a birthmark no man other than myself will ever see!" He declared as she watched him in disbelief. "Maybe the doctor, if we ever have children. However, for that to happen, I need to find a way to bring about tomorrow."

"Did you only marry me because you knew I'd forget about it?" She asked as he saw her anger rising.

"No." He told her calmly, somehow amused at her tone. Moments later, he stretched on the blanket, his arms pillowing his head. "When the day first restarted", he began his account with unmasked sadness in his voice, "I thought it had been a bad dream. A nightmare. The idea that a day might start all over again seemed absurd at that time, especially because nobody else seemed to remember anything. I thought it was a warning, a chance to prevent many deaths, yours and mine included. I managed to save us, but I lost Felipe instead and my soul with him. Then the day restarted and I managed to also save Felipe but lost my father and you...they hurt you and I wasn't there. I am grateful you don't remember that. It took me quite a few repeats until I managed to make sure that nobody died. I thought that way the day would stop repeating itself but the day started again. So I asked my father for help, and he suggested... Not suggested. He made me realize that, if, no matter what I changed, the day just restarted, again and again, I should consider it as an opportunity to make it a happy day. That's why I wed you so many times, not because you wouldn't remember, but because I could not imagine a happier day than the day I married you, Victoria." He confessed.

"Then why didn't you marry me today?" She asked with tears in her eyes after hearing his story.

"Because I need for this to stop. I love marrying you. I love... I love the spark in your eyes after the first time we make love. But it tears me apart to wake up alone after having shared so much of myself with you. And it is not fair that you don't remember anything that happened between us."

"Diego, would you make love to me now?" She asked.

"No. I will never touch you before I marry you." He replied.

"But you said you already married me hundreds of times. That you have already made me yours." She insisted.

"I did. But I haven't married you today. And if, by any chance, tomorrow does come and this day stops repeating itself..."

"I will remember..." She finished his train of thought.

"You will remember me having fallen prey to my desires instead of doing right by you." He smiled at her. "Truth is, I would wrong you either way. Even if the day repeats itself, as it might, and you will not remember a thing, what would you think of me if I confessed to have made love to you without having married you first? Taking advantage of you, aware that you would not remember me doing that?"

"You can keep that a secret." She replied, leaning against him and lovingly looking into his eyes.

"Yes. I am rather good at that, aren't I? But I wouldn't want any secret between me and my wife, so how about we first figure out a way for both of us to remember our wedding day?" He asked. "And maybe we can marry later, anyway."

"Sounds like a plan." She answered.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 997

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"Victoria surely is a passionate woman. About me, most of all. I love that about her. I wonder if her idea might work."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 998

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I basically knew it wouldn't work but at least I gave it a shot. What am I doing wrong? Maybe I should read more. Perhaps there's an answer in one of my books."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1224

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I read all the books in the pueblo. I have learned to speak 3 more foreign languages and 2 Indian dialects. My swordsmanship skills are declining. Felipe bested me yesterday. Easily. I wonder if I still know how to play chess. Will spend the day riding Tornado."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1282

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I should ride as Zorro. Haven't done that in a very long time. I miss it."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1283

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"De Soto bested me yesterday. I am too rusty. I should ask Felipe to help me improve my swordsmanship. Not today. Haven't married Victoria in a week. I should rectify that first. It's good she doesn't remember how I was defeated by De Soto."

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1395

Diego was getting bored and extremely tired. Of everything.

He had married Victoria more times than he remembered, confessed his secret identity to absolutely everyone in the pueblo several times - sometimes, just to see who he could really trust; dueled with De Soto as himself, almost killed him (he couldn't go through with it, though), forced him to resign and replaced him with his father; was hung, shot, poisoned, stabbed to death and committed suicide a few times, in several ways. Yet nothing seemed to make any difference. That absurd day ended and restarted again, just the same, no matter what he did.

One morning, he didn't really know exactly what day it was anymore since he had long since stopped counting, but had a vague idea that it had been over three years in total since the day started repeating itself. He spent two hours just pacing the library, trying to decide what to do. He eventually headed towards the cave and dressed as Zorro and take on the bandits. He knew it didn't matter much if he managed to prevent them from killing anyone or not, but he needed the practice since only three months earlier De Soto had bested him in a duel. He certainly didn't want to repeat that. Spending seven months doing almost nothing else but reading, had obviously caused him to lose practice.

He wasn't getting older and his body was not losing muscle mass, but he was no longer used to the fighting. Apparently, because his memory was not affected by the loop, his mind was also changing. It made sense, really, which is why, after realizing that, he was no longer taking his skills for granted, but started retraining.

Mounted on Tornado, he made his way towards the pueblo around 1:30 p.m. and left his stallion close to the tavern. Climbing on the nearby roofs, he entered Victoria's establishment through the kitchen high window, leaving his beloved a message asking her to close at 2 p.m. and go to the de la Vega hacienda.

He then remained, watching.

The bandits came, got upset at finding the tavern closed, tried to force the doors, awakened the lancers, then got themselves killed when they started waving their guns. He had assisted the garrison from atop the tavern roof, launching several explosive devices at the thugs and fighting two of them as the lancers busied themselves with the others.

Two of De Soto's men, including Mendoza, lost their lives in the shootout, and the Alcalde was lucky enough to fire a musket shot which injured Zorro's waist when he rode away. It was not a life-threatening wound, but it stung and bled quite a lot as he rode back home. He disinfected and patched it as fast as he could, then joined Victoria and his father in the courtyard, where they were having coffee, just before news came from town.

A service for the two dead lancers was to take place that very afternoon. The burial was fixed for the following day.

Diego knew all those actions were pointless since the men would be alive again as soon as the day restarted, but he had grown tired of explaining to people that they were living in a loop, so he just did what everybody did and attended the wake. Then, leaving his father to return home with Felipe, he headed for the tavern, set on doing the one thing he never did: drink alcohol.

On his way there he collected a partner with a similar purpose in mind: De Soto. The man was more saddened about Mendoza's loss than Diego expected him to be and had every intention of getting drunk that evening.

They chose a corner table and ordered two bottles of brandy and two glasses. Pilar brought them their order since Victoria was too distraught to do more than cook dinner and then retire to her room.

"So… You do drink!" De Soto noted sarcastically as he poured the brandy in both their glasses.

"Not usually. Let's say this is a special occasion." Diego answered.

"It's been a bad day, De la Vega. It's a shame about Mendoza. Despite his faults, he was a good man. Faithful. There aren't many of those around. The one good thing was that I finally managed to injure that masked fiend."

"I wouldn't gloat too much if I were you. I bet he'll be like new by morning."

"You're probably right!" De Soto conceded. "Who am I kidding? That man has more lives than a cat!"

"You're right about that…" Diego agreed. "Zorro should have been dead almost four years ago."

"Three. I've only been here for three years. But I had no idea you supported me in my efforts against that outlaw!"

"I don't. I'm just stating facts as they are." Diego uttered, drinking his entire glass then taking the bottle to fill it again.

"You should pace yourself, De la Vega!" Ignacio warned him, then followed his example. "To Mendoza!" He said raising his next glass.

"And to Private Sanchez!" Diego added as he did the same, but, this time, only drank a little of the liquor.

"Yes. Him too. You know, Diego, I always wondered why you don't drink. Before today I can't even remember when I last saw you with a glass of alcohol in your hands."

"You want to know why I don't drink, Alcalde?" Diego asked. "I don't drink because the last time I did, I got so drunk that I almost killed a fellow student during a duel, then bedded a young lady I was neither engaged, nor married to – in fact I didn't even know her, to be honest - just because she reminded me of the woman I loved, and I thought she was her."

De Soto spilled his drink. "You? You have actually fought a duel? Really? And messed around with some floozy you didn't know? Seriously, Diego, before this very moment, I would have bet you were still a virgin! And what's with that woman of yours? I am still wondering who you were in love with when you went to Spain!"

Diego looked at him pensively. "I tell you what. I answer one of your questions, you answer one of mine. How about that?"

"Fine… But I want the entire story!"

"I'll tell you all you want to know. But I do believe it's my turn to ask a question."

De Soto conceded with a nod. The alcohol was getting to both their heads, but mainly to his, since he wasn't slowing down as Diego did.

"How do you know I was in love with someone before leaving Califronia? You first mentioned it at Christmas if I remember correctly."

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you, and I don't fancy being seen as a crazy man." The Alcalde answered. "Ask me something else!"

"I answered your question, and I don't particularly want anyone to see me as a drunken violent womanizer." Diego replied.

"All right. But if anyone else learns about this, I will have you executed!"

"I can certainly believe that." Diego uttered.

"Last Christmas something strange happened. I was having this beautiful dream… about watching Zorro being dragged through the streets of Madrid towards the scaffold… to be hung, of course…"

"Of course…" The caballero could hardly prevent an ironic smile creeping on his face.

"But then I was woken up by a ghost. Machiavelli's to be more precise. He came to tell me that he had been wrong in his teachings, and that I was to be granted a second chance to redeem myself. Oh… and get this! Apparently it all happened because I saved your life last year."

"Machiavelli told you that?"

"No… My sister, Francisca, did. She's been dead for a very long time now."

"But didn't you say it was Machiavelli's ghost?"

"The first one was his. Then came the other three."

"The other three?"

"If you dare laugh…"

"I won't!"

"Good. So… The first, no.. the first was Machiavelli's. The second ghost was that of my sister, Francisca, who said she was the Ghost of Christmas Past, and took me to see things that happened long ago. Among them, that ball we both attended while in university. I got to witness your conversation with Dos Santos and with Rafaela. After you rejected her advances, Emmanuel asked if you will not even look at another woman while in Madrid because you were in love with some senorita who you believed was waiting for you here."

"I remember that. I told him that I believed she would wait as long as it took…" Diego confirmed.

"So it was real? You can confirm that?"

"Well… Yes… The part you just mentioned. What else did you see?"

"Just some nonsense about how you and Mendoza first met at the orphanage and you gave him some pudding and new boots, how you consoled Senorita Escalante after her father and brother left, and some things that happened to me that you would not know about."

"What else? You said there were three ghosts…" Diego was becoming truly intrigued at this point and decided to extract as much information from De Soto as he could.

"My childhood friend, Nicolas, the Ghost of Christmas Present… He showed me Zorro and Victoria during the Christmas Eve party – I think he might be jealous of you, by the way - my mother and grandmother in Spain, the Christmas party at your hacienda, and Mendoza dying. But that didn't happen, at least not then… because I didn't send him on the morning patrol during which he would have died…"

"So you managed to change things… Interesting. What else?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know the rest."

"Whatever you saw seems pretty serious. It might be good for you to talk to someone about it." Diego encouraged him.

"I saw a bunch of graves, Diego. Yours, your father's, mine, Doctor Hernandez's and about forty others. I didn't get much insight as to what happened, but apparently it all started in February with you sacrificing yourself to save me from one of the traps I laid out for Zorro. Your grave was the oldest one and Senorita Escalante was sobbing over you as if it had been Zorro who had died."

"I see… So that's why you said all you said to me on Christmas Day. That conversation certainly makes more sense now."

"Yes… well… I don't think you're supposed to die. My sister's ghost told me that saving you would always be the right choice for me… whatever that means. I, for one, would rather you just continued your usual custom of hiding whenever there's trouble in the pueblo. I think it would be better for everyone. And I will not lay out any traps for Zorro for a while, just to be on the safe side."

Diego's fleeting grin was all he answered as he remained thoughtful.

"Your turn. I want all the details of your misbehavior while in Madrid."

"Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I told you my crazy story, now you tell me yours. For all I know you might die in a month and take that secret to your grave."

"Always the optimist, aren't you, Ignacio?" Diego inquired sarcastically "Fine. It happened while I was in my third year. Emmanuel, myself and two of our friends - let's call them A and B, since I'd rather not give names - decided one evening, after a very demanding exam, that it would be a good idea to go to a tavern in Barrio de La Latina. After about four bottles of wine, which we shared, A started being rather aggressive towards the taverness. She was a young widow left tending to the property after her husband had passed away.

"Emmanuel and I defended her, which A took as efforts to ruin his fun. At some point, he left the table and didn't return for a while. So I went after him because we decided to leave and I found him in the back alley about to kill the brother of the taverness. Apparently the young man went looking for his sister and found A in the process of raping her. The poor young man never stood a chance. By the time I found them, he was bleeding from five wounds, and was barely able to stand. So I defended him, which my friend took as a challenge.

"I was too drunk to realize exactly what I was doing. Instead of knocking him out, I got rather upset about the young man, and decided to do to him what he had done to the taverness' brother. Had Emmanuel not stopped me right in time, I would have killed him."

"It's a miracle he didn't kill you considering your level of swordsmanship." De Soto pointed out. "I can hardly imagine you with a sword… least of all killing someone… But I guess you are full of surprises tonight. So what happened next?"

"Emmanuel and B took care of the woman's brother and helped our colleague, patching them up, and they left me with the taverness, who offered to sober me up. But when she came to bring me a cup of coffee, in my drunken state, I confused her for the woman I loved, pulled her in my lap and kissed her. Next thing I knew, she led me to her bedroom and made love to me. I only realized what had happened the next day and I was terrified. I was afraid she might have gotten pregnant, or that her family would demand that we get married, and my entire future would be ruined. I don't think I had ever been so disappointed in myself as I was that morning.

"However, none of my fears came true. She just thanked me for making her feel like a woman again, kissed me one more time, and that was all.

"I visited her from time to time, mostly because of my concerns, since I was quite ashamed to even look at her, truth be told. About six months later, she remarried, sold the tavern, and left for Cordoba. I never saw her after that."

"And your father thinks you're such a saint!" De Soto exclaimed. "But you didn't tell me who was the woman Emmanuel mentioned. The one the widow reminded you of…"

"Oh, Ignacio… I really have to spell things out for you, don't I?" Diego chuckled, and asked Pilar for another bottle of brandy after realizing De Soto had already emptied theirs. "However, I do believe it's my turn."

"Fine… Then you answer!" De Soto said suspiciously.

"Why did you come here, to Los Angeles? As far as I was informed, you were not the King's first choice. You actually fought for this position, one you don't even seem to really want."

"I thought it was an important position at the time. A newly-colonized territory, a chance to stand out, perhaps make some money while I'm here. The bounty for a certain outlaw would do just fine. I wasn't born rich, you know… nor have I been blessed with many high level connections such as you and other caballeros. My mother's family is rich but they disinherited her when she married my father. So I had to make my way through this world with no help from my relatives, all of which, my grandparents included, refused to even meet me. Becoming an Alcalde seemed like the right step for my career, and I had more chances in California than I had or a similar position in Spain. I had this image in my mind, that I would make history here and be welcomed back with open arms in six months tops. Then my grandparents might want to finally meet me! Had I known about Zorro and all the trouble he'd be at the time, I doubt I would have ever put foot here."

"If you'd be a better Alcalde, Zorro would stop riding."

"I don't want him to stop! I want to capture him, and have him executed!"

"No you don't. Trust me… As soon as the mask is off, you always back down…" Diego uttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Is that your next question?"

"Yes… No… The woman. Who's the woman?" De Soto was looking at Diego with his yes only half-opened at that point as the alcohol was ravaging his liver.

"Victoria."

"Escalante?"

"Yes, Ignacio! Victoria Escalante."

"You're in love with Zorro's woman?!" He mocked a bit loudly and chuckled, causing many of the patrons to turn their heads at his words.

"I am." Diego answered.

"If I was sober, I would arrest you for being Zorro, just for telling me that!"

"I'm sure you would." Diego replied, a little inebriated, yet still much more sober than De Soto. "I think it's my turn to ask a question."

"Ask!" De Soto said as he drank his seventh glass of wine, and did his best effort to keep his eyes open.

"Are you really trying to kill Zorro?"

De Soto opened his mouth to answer, then shut it, thinking. "I do owe him my life." He eventually replied. "The fool saved me quite a few times. But I do want to return to Madrid, and that means I need to capture and execute him first. So yes… But… Now that you made me think, perhaps it's why I don't capture him, you know? Perhaps some part of me doesn't want to. Before I left Madrid I was perfectly capable of shooting a flying duck, some forty feet away, with just a pistol. And now I can barely injure him…"

"Hmmm…" Was all Diego answered while pouring another glass for De Soto as he was still savoring his fourth.

"My turn." De Soto said, opening his eyes and taking the glass, then glancing at Diego. "I want to know… I want to know… why you're bleeding."

Diego didn't initially understand the question, and only realized his white shirt had been stained by blood from his wound when he followed Ignacio's stare.

"Oh… that… I could say it's just wine stain, but you were honest with me, so I'll be honest with you. I am bleeding because you shot me after I helped you stop those bandits which attacked the pueblo earlier."

"I didn't shoot you!" De Soto protested.

"You really are thick headed. Fortunately for me, that is!" He replied.

"I only shot Zorro today!" Ignacio exclaimed as to contradict him. "If I shot him, and you were injured, that means that…"

"Yes?"

"I'll be right back!" The Alcalde said as he stumbled towards the exit. "Do not leave!" He ordered him as he returned to the table after taking only two steps. He again headed for the doors, set on getting the soldiers to arrest Diego, when the dizziness caused by the wine and the sudden change of air as he stepped outside made him fall.

Diego watched him, smiled shaking his head, left the money for the wine on the table, and followed him. When he arrived on the terrace and saw him resting on the pavement, he sighed and helped him to his feet. Then, he shouted for Sepulveda, who was stationed outside the Alcalde's office, to help him carry him inside.

"Arrest him, he's Zorro…" De Soto mumbled as the two of them placed him in his bed.

Sepulveda looked inquisitively towards Diego.

"He's drunk," the caballero justified the order. Sepulveda acknowledged with a nod, and was about to escort him outside when he also noticed the blood stain.

"Don Diego, you are bleeding!" He uttered in disbelief.

"Oh, that? No… It's just wine, Corporal. Ignacio and I had a little too much tonight."

"But you don't usually drink, Don Diego!"

"I also don't usually get shot, Corporal."

"That is true." Sepulveda agreed and led him out of the Alcalde's quarters.

Diego checked his watch and realized it was barely 9 pm. Considering his options, he decided to ask doctor Hernandez to patch him up, before heading home. He didn't really feel like explaining his father why he was injured that day.

First, however, he returned to the tavern and drank a coffee to sober up.

Some twenty minutes later, the doctor opened the door and let him in, then checked the wound and looked inquisitively at Diego.

"Ignacio shot me." He proceeded to bluntly tell the man.

Doctor Hernandez fell silent for a few moments. "Were you wearing a mask and riding a black stallion when he did?" He eventually asked.

"As a matter of fact I was."

"You're Zorro?" The old man asked, just to confirm his suspicions.

"Yes. And if your next question is why I am telling you, it is because by tomorrow you will have forgotten everything."

"You have a poor opinion of my memory, son!" The doctor replied.

"No, I don't. The reason I know you'll forget has nothing to do with your memory, but with the time loop we've been stuck in for almost four years now."

"Time loop? That stallion of yours didn't happen to hit you in the head did he, Diego?" Hernandez questioned as he was stitching the wound.

"I wish! No… I'm not making this up nor man I crazy… or drunk. We are stuck in a day that keeps repeating itself, and I am the only one who remembers."

"If that is so, why you?" The doctor decided to humor him feeling he was quite serious.

"I wish I had an answer to that."

"Shouldn't you be looking for it, then? Here! All done!"

"I tried." Diego answered as he was buttoning back his shirt.

"Perhaps you haven't been searching where you should have."

Diego looked inquisitively at the older man as he started pondering the idea. "I think my father suggested the same thing a while back…" The caballero replied. "Thank you, Doctor! Have a good evening!" He added as he headed for the door.

"Take care of yourself, Diego!" The old man saluted before closing the door and returning to the book he was reading before being interrupted by the caballero. I should have guessed it was him. He told himself.

Diego returned to the hacienda, stabled his horse, then entered the house, intending to make his way straight towards his quarters. His father, however, was waiting for him in the library and stopped him just as he was passing by.

"Diego! Where have you been?" The old caballero inquired then rapidly noticed the blood stain. "Good Lord, Son! What happened to you?"

Diego sighed "It's nothing to worry about, Father."

"What? You are wounded, and you don't want me to worry about that? You're my only son, Diego!" He protested as he followed the younger man down the corridor and into his room.

"Father, really, it's just a scratch! I didn't patch it up well when I left home this afternoon, and it bloodied my shirt."

"You were wounded before you left? How? When? And if you don't mind, I'd like to see for myself how superficial is that 'scratch' as you call it, so take off your shirt!"

Diego sighed and gave up, opening the shirt and taking it off to let his father inspect the wound and change the bandage, although it hardly needed replacing already.

That, however, proved to be a mistake as Don Alejandro rapidly scanned the rest of his torso and reached the conclusion he didn't really know his son as well as he thought he did.

"You're Zorro?!" He asked and concluded at the same time, a mixture of anger and disbelief in his voice.

"Yes. May I go to bed now?" Diego replied calmly.

"No, you may not! How could you hide this from me?"

"I tried to tell you after Gilberto died, but you dismissed the idea completely. Since you were in denial, I thought it best to leave it at that."

Don Alejandro took a deep breath of air trying to calm himself. "Denial? Diego… How could you lie about who you are for… for a decade? To me! Let alone to Victoria and so many others."

"Do you think I would have survived so long had I not? Father, all I did was for your protection, and let's admit it, you never wanted to know this secret, not to mention you are terrible at keeping it!"

"That you don't know!" Don Alejandro protested.

"On the contrary. I do know. Because this is not the first time you found out. The first time was almost four years ago, when I was first killed. Since then you found out more times than I can count, and you always hated knowing, and always slip up at some point or another."

"Diego, what are you talking about?" The old don questioned as his son was changing into his nightclothes. After that reply he was now doubting Diego's sanity. "What do you mean I found out when you died? Son, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, Father. I am fine. It's just this day that's getting to me. Sit down and I will explain…" Diego indicated towards an armchair as he climbed into bed.

Don Alejandro did as asked and pulled the armchair close to his son.

"I created Zorro to get you and Victoria out of jail. When it worked so well, I decided I could make a difference, and I have. And I accepted the price I need to pay to keep that secret. You, however, would find it much harder to, and I know that because, for over three years now, most probably four, we've been living in a time loop. Every morning is the same day, over and over again, and I am the only one who remembers. I don't know why, but it is what it is. And I've tried everything to stop it. The first time it happened, the bandits the Alcalde caught today killed Victoria, Mendoza and several lancers and civilians. I was also killed that day, although I couldn't say exactly who took the shot. I remember Ignacio sent his men to bring you and Felipe to say goodbye, and I remember that I have never seen you so devastated. At least not until the second time I died and you were there. But that came later. So I died… and then I woke up in this bed, and it was the same day and my deadly wound was simply gone, as if it had never existed.

"Naturally, I thought it had all been a nightmare, but then some conversations repeated themselves, and I realized it was something else. That day, the bandits killed Felipe, I killed them all as revenge, then you and Victoria discovered the cave, but I think you left the panel leading to it open because De Soto and Mendoza also came in and arrested me. And the next day, I again woke up in this bed, and everyone was fine again, I was not a criminal… and the events repeated themselves. Except, this time, I helped capture the bandits and no one died at lunchtime. But they escaped in the evening and attacked the hacienda. Victoria was raped and you died in my arms.

"It's been over 1000 days now, I think probably around 1300 or 1400, but I lost count a while back, to be fair. Always when I wake up is February the 23rd, 1821.

"For much of this time I gave up. I just made sure Victoria, you and Felipe live through the day, and didn't intervene much otherwise. It didn't really make a difference when I did, not even when I managed to stop the bandits from committing any crime. A few times you even helped me prevent that.

"Now, I guess I'm just tired. I'm tired of telling you all this for what is probably the five-hundredth time, I'm tired of marrying Victoria only to have her look at me as if I was just her friend the following day, I'm tired of death and explanations, and I am tired of the pointless fight."

Don Alejandro listened to him carefully and tried to wrap his mind around all his son was telling him.

"Can you tell me something, anything that would prove to me, without a doubt that what you say is true? Surely…"

"Yes. Among other things I did all this time was gathering information. Tonight, for example, I had the most fascinating talk with Ignacio… But that's beside the point. What matters is that you also told me a few interesting things. Like the fact that you suspected I had helped you and your friends when you went after Cordoba, and wondered how Zorro could have known what you were up to. Or that on Christmas Eve you dreamt of a long talk with Mother. She told you that a big change is coming, and that our family would soon grow."

"How can you know all that? I've never told you! I've never told anyone!"

"You did, actually. How else could I know? As I've said, I didn't completely waste all this time. I've gathered a lot of interesting information. I also read everything I could, learned three more foreign languages and two Indian dialects, I took some medicine lessons from Doctor Hernandez… and, most importantly - for me at least - I found out that Victoria loves also Diego, not only Zorro. The hundreds of wedding nights I spent with her made up for some of the traumas I also collected while living in this purgatory."

"You… and Victoria… you…" Don Alejandro tried to ask but seemed inappropriate, although he had to admit to himself that he had never before had a more open and honest conversation with Diego in his entire life.

"She doesn't remember, of course. I probably married her about a thousand times by now. It's the one thing I did more times than telling you I was Zorro and capturing those bandits. And it's unexpectedly frustrating, to tell you the truth. Other men would kill to be in my position, but all I can think about is that I don't get to wake up with her in my arms. I want a future with her, Father, but, if there is no tomorrow, how can there be a future?"

A few moments of silence fell and both men just stared at the walls, lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you believe me?" Diego eventually asked.

"I believe you, Son. I can't begin to understand, and I don't know how to advise you, but I believe you." The older don replied.

"Thank you, Father!"

"Diego… did I… Did I ever apologize? Did I ever tell you how proud I am of you?"

"You did, Father. Every time I told you the truth. But you really don't need to… I always knew. Even if this is the afterlife – a possibility I am still taking into consideration – and we are all dead, or just I am, I always knew…" Diego answered.

"I certainly hope not! I can't imagine living if you were dead Son. What would I have left to live for?"

"Felipe? He would still need you if I was gone. But, to be fair, whatever this is, it feels a lot like life. Maybe a quirk in the universe caused it. Some comet, perhaps. I don't know. Maybe it's something else I can't even begin to understand."

"Maybe it's a chance to learn. And once you've learn everything you need to, the loop might end by itself."

"That may also be a possibility."

"Or maybe… Maybe it's not about you, at all! Have you considered that? But I couldn't fathom what would it be about if you're the only one who can remember…"

"I also considered that perspective, although maybe not seriously enough. Perhaps I need to correct things, just not what I imagine I need to correct. Thank you for the talk, Father! I had no idea how much I needed it."

"My pleasure, Son." Don Alejandro replied and got up to head towards his room, a thousand thoughts rambling through his head. "One more thing, Diego. Know there is not a day that I don't feel grateful that I have you as my son. Even when I was upset with you because I had no idea you were… who you are… even on those days I was grateful because you are far more honorable, intelligent and good than any other man I know. You are quite amazing, really!"

Diego smiled at the old don's moving words as he watched him leave the room, then settled down to sleep.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1400

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"This has gone on for long enough. Perhaps my first idea was correct and I am just missing something. I should get Victoria to safety and observe from the sidelines until I finally understand what's actually going on and why. As Zorro or as Diego? As both."


	10. Answers

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1408

When the idea first hit him, Diego wanted to slap himself. It shouldn't have taken him so long to actually notice.

He had been spending the last eight days just watching the events in town and taking mental notes.

The bandits always arrived at the same hour. Always eight, always armed, always blood thirsty. That he expected.

The first two times he watched, he made no attempt to change anything and allowed for things to happen as they were going to. So he just stood and watch the massacre. Seeing Victoria die, however, was unbearable, thus he decided he'd rather spend eternity in that loop than see the thugs kill her again. That was, however, before he started paying attention to the thugs.

Taking the experimental approach to the events, he decided to see what the consequences would be if he changed some of the data of the equation.

Firstly, just as he had been doing almost since the beginning, he made sure Victoria would leave town before the bandits' arrival. Then, he started doing the same with De Soto and Mendoza, in the hope he would avert the massacre, which their absence did.

It was only then that he first noticed.

The events, he expected, should have followed a similar order every day. First the bandits robbed the tavern, then they made their way out with four prisoners. Then the lancers would try to stop them, the sudden threat they posed causing two of the bandits to shoot at them.

And that is when it all went insane. The bandits didn't manage to hit their targets every day, which, considering he wasn't changing any other variable, should have been the expected outcome. Once, two of them acted foolishly, getting themselves killed.

It was a puzzle which made no sense to him in the begining. Not until he started paying more attention to the bandits.

That was how he noticed that one of the names their leader called as he exited the tavern changed from one day to another. At first he doubted both his memory and his hearing. When the next day, when it happened again, Diego could hardly start to process the implications of having been right.

He needed more proof, though. So, on the ninth day of his watch, certain of having memorized the name and face of every thug, he went to the tavern to see them closer. He almost lost his balance when he noticed that three of them were not the same who had been there several days before. The group's members had, indeed, changed.

That is how he reached the only conclusion he could reach. The amazing, troubling, yet hope-giving conclusion that there was someone else who could remember things. Someone else was influencing the events. Someone who might know how to stop the loop. All he now had to do was to find that person, and the easiest way to do it was if he enlisted some help.

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1411

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, then he got out of bed, put on a suit and made his way towards the cave where he changed into his black clothes. Mounting Tornado, he exited, heading for Los Angeles.

Since it was before 6:30 in the morning, he knew very well De Soto would be in his room, sound asleep. He hid a time-delay bomb in the prison's courtyard, and entered through the roof window, as usual. Making his way into the Alcalde's room, he locked it up behind him and woke up De Soto.

"We need to talk, Alcalde!" He greeted him.

"Zorro! What are you doing here? What time is it?" De Soto asked at being awoken.

"I have a deal for you." He answered.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" De Soto questioned.

"I will give myself up to you. In exchange, I need you and your men to do something for me." He started presenting his case.

"Give yourself up? Why would you do that? Why should I believe you?" De Soto wondered, not sure if it was his lucky day, but certainly hoping it was.

"What do you have to lose?" Zorro asked.

De Soto considered the idea for a moment.

"What would I have to do in return?"

"Just your duty, Alcalde. Send men to patrol the countryside. They need to cover 50 miles east of the pueblo. As much terrain as possible. They will be looking for 12 bandits, but I am rather sure they will be split into two groups, one of 8 and one of 4. I will only need information regarding the way they took to get here. What you do with them is your business. But, Alcalde, heed my words. Those men are very dangerous, and will not hesitate to kill. So caution your men to stay away from them and do the same should they get here."

"How do I know this is not one of your traps? And even if it isn't, how do I know you will be keeping your part of the bargain?"

That's exactly what he asked the last five times we've been through this! Why is it always a repetition with these people? Zorro considered.

"If you agree to the deal, I will share my identity with a person I trust. I will tell you who that person is, and he will publicly confess to know my real name. Once that is done, you will send the patrol and bring back the information I need. I will give myself up in exchange for that information, or the man who admits to knowing who I am will give you my name. Think about it, Alcalde! You might have me in prison by tonight. 6.000 pesos in reward money just for you!"

"I believe we might have a deal, Zorro! But I first need to know who will you share your identity with."

"Diego de la Vega. I will ride out to let him know, and he will be here a little later. And, Alcalde, don't even consider locking him up or trying to get the information any other way. I will not break him out of jail if you do that, but I will also not prevent the explosive charges I have hidden around the cuartel to go off."

Moments after he said that, the time-delay device he had hidden but 10 minutes earlier went off, causing a huge explosion in the courtyard.

"Just a preview, Alcalde. The rest of them will cause a lot of damages." Zorro said. "Do we have a deal?"

"How do I know you will disarm them?" De Soto inquired.

"They are set to go off at 9 pm. If by that time I realize you have not respected your part of the deal, be sure there will be nothing left of this place. Respect it and you shall have my name."

"Alright! We have a deal, Zorro! If De la Vega comes here and admits publicly to know your identity."

"Alcalde!" Mendoza shouted from the other side of the door.

"Don't bother! I will open for the Sergeant. Be sure to put him in charge of the patrol. See you later, Alcalde!"

As he said that, he exited the room, letting a surprised Mendoza in, and made his way out through the office. In the plaza he mounted Tornado and heading towards the hacienda.

Half an hour later, a little after 7 a.m., Diego de la Vega was entering Los Angeles. The plaza was already buzzing with people, awoken that morning by the explosion in the cuartel. As soon as he arrived, De Soto exited his office and headed towards him.

"Don Diego!" He shouted. "I believe you might have an announcement to make?"

"Alcalde! Just the man I was coming to see!" He answered with a grin. "Indeed, I do have an announcement, and I was instructed to make it in public."

"We are all ears, De la Vega!" De Soto paused near him.

"I," he started in loud voice, so that everyone could hear, "Diego de la Vega, hereby declare that I know the true identity of Zorro. Upon his instructions, I am requested to share said information, this evening, with Alcalde De Soto in exchange for a certain piece of information the Alcalde might provide."

"You have all heard him!" Ignacio underlined. "This admission will cost you your life, De la Vega, if you do not give me Zorro's real name! Are we clear?"

"We are very clear, Alcalde." He answered. "I believe you have about 10-12 hours to find the information requested of you. Personally, I would appreciate your efforts in bringing that information, since I have no intention of hanging. My father only has one son left."

De Soto had considered extracting the information from Diego by other means than by respecting the deal he had struck with Zorro but, those few last words convinced him to do his best to honor it.

"Is that true, Diego?" Victoria asked him as the Alcalde was instructing his men to go on patrol. "Do you truly know who Zorro is?"

"Yes, Victoria. I know." He answered.

"And you are really going to reveal his name to the Alcalde?"

"I am. If he keeps his part of the deal." He confirmed, lovingly gazing into her grief-stricken eyes.

"Why would he do such a deal? Why put you in this position?" She asked him.

"I am sure Zorro has his reasons. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to the hacienda. Oh! I almost forgot. Zorro also asked me to tell you that you should come to the hacienda for lunch today. He prefers you to be out of the town between midday and late afternoon."

"He said that?"

"Yes. I will also inform Father as soon as I get back. I'll see you later, Victoria!"

"See you later, Diego!"

Making his way back, the caballero told his father about having invited Victoria for lunch and about his decision to go for a ride that morning. He then took Esperanza and left her in the cave while Zorro patrolled the countryside on Tornado. He followed the lancers for a while but, at arriving at the Alvear abandoned farmhouse, where the lancers made their way north-east, he went south-east, trying to find traces of the men he was looking for. He rode as fast as he could, covering as much ground as possible, but was unable to find any trace of the bandits. He returned to the hacienda later that afternoon, about two hours after Felipe, as instructed, had released Esperanza and the horse had made her way home.

"You fell off the horse, again, Diego?" His father admonished him as he entered the dining room where everyone was drinking their coffee. "You used to be such a good horseman once, Son!"

"I'm sorry, Father! A rattlesnake startled Esperanza. I was lucky not to get any broken ribs this time!"

"Are you sure you are not injured? I am so afraid for you sometimes. You are all I have left, my boy!"

"Not all, Father! And you also have Felipe!" He answered, smiling proudly at his adopted son.

"Yes, of course! I also have Felipe now." The old don confirmed, lovingly gazing at the young man. "But you are still my only son. If anything happened to you, Diego, I am not sure I could survive the heartbreak."

"Nothing will happen to me! You needn't worry so much!" Well, I have already died about 40 times by now but there's no good reason to tell you about that, is there?

"Really? And how about all this Victoria is telling me? Has Zorro shared his identity with you?" Don Alejandro inquired as Felipe was staring at his father, wondering if that was another plan of his or he had suddenly gone mad.

'Sharing his identity'. That is a rather accurate way of describing it, indeed. Diego considered.

"Yes. I know exactly who Zorro is, and I will share that information with the Alcalde under certain conditions." He confirmed.

"And if you don't share it, you will hang, Diego! How could he put you in such a position? Why would Zorro do that to you?" Don Alejandro protested, feeling disappointed in the man he considered a hero to his pueblo.

"I assure you Zorro has good reasons, Father." He answered.

"You cannot do that, Diego!" Victoria pleaded. "You cannot tell them who Zorro is!"

"Don Alejandro!" The panicked voice of Senor Peralta could be heard down the corridor and they all hurried towards the entrance. "Don Alejandro! Something terrible has happened!"

"Senor Peralta! What is going on?" The old don asked.

"A massacre! It was a massacre, Senor! The Alcalde, two of the lancers, and four others are all dead! Bandits, Don Alejandro! They took hostages in the tavern, and, when they made their way out the pueblo, there was a shootout! Two of the bandits are also dead. It seems they were the men Zorro was looking for in the morning." The messenger answered.

"De Soto is dead, you say?" Don Alejandro asked in disbelief. "Who else?"

"The two young lancers - Munoz and Rodriguez -, Pilar – Victoria sighed at hearing the name of her employee – Cadenas, Priam, and Dona Emilia."

"Madre de Dios!" Victoria exclaimed as Don Alejandro was escorting Senor Peralta to the door, thanking him for bringing the information. "And while all this was going on, I was here, enjoying my time with you."

"There is nothing you could have done, Victoria, except sharing her faith, perhaps." Diego assured her.

"I would have gladly died to save her, Diego!"

"I know. But I couldn't go through that. I couldn't bear to see you dead, Victoria. Not without putting a bullet through my brain. And I certainly cannot see what good that would have done."

"What did you say, Diego? Why would you..."

Diego did not answer, just smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and, when his father return, he offered to escort a shocked Victoria back to town. Don Alejandro and Felipe also decided to join them, fully aware that the young tavern owner would need them that afternoon.

As soon as she arrived in Los Angeles, she went to see her friend's dead body and kissed her on her cheek, paying her respects to Pilar's husband and embracing his young daughter who was oblivious as to why her mother wouldn't talk to her anymore. Blaming herself for having left Pilar alone to take care of the tavern, Victoria was moving as in a trance. The plaza was still a sad reminder of the recent events, blood pools scattered near the tavern and the Alcalde's office. Victoria went to her room and Diego followed her, unable to bear seeing her so sad.

"Zorro should have been here!" She murmured sobbing. "He should have protected Pilar. He could have saved all of them!"

"He will!" Diego answered calmly. "Soon."

"What do you mean, 'soon'? She is dead!" Victoria pointed out with indignation.

"Yes, she is. For now. Tomorrow they will all be alive again, though. God knows they must have died tens, perhaps hundreds of times by now."

"What in the world are you talking about, Diego?"

"It's complicated to explain, Victoria. But I promise she will be here tomorrow, alive and well!"

"How can you make such a promise? She is dead! Dead people do not come back to life!"

"We did." He answered. "I died dozens of times by now. Yet I always wake up alive in the morning. The difference between me and everyone else is that I remember it, while nobody else does. You all believe this is the 23rd of January 1821 and it is. But it has been the same date for almost four years now. The bandits always come at 2:30 in the afternoon and there is always a massacre. We all died at one point or another, but in the morning everyone is alive and well."

"What are you saying Diego? Are you mad?" She asked shaking, convinced her friend must have suffered some bad injury to the head, probably caused by being thrown off his horse that afternoon.

"We are trapped reliving the same day, Victoria. We have been for a long time. I actually told you about this before."

"I have no idea what are you saying, Diego. I would remember... I need to call Doctor Hernandez. Stay here!" Victoria ordered him as she was getting out of bed.

"The first night after I returned from Madrid you dreamt about marrying me. I know you don't remember telling me that but ask yourself: how can I know that if not from you?"

"I have never told that to anyone. You can't possibly now that!" She stopped, and turned towards him, bewildered by the revelation. It was her best-kept secret. The one thing she had never dared reveal to any other person.

"You did tell me, Victoria." Diego insisted.

"Why would I do that? Why would I tell you my secret?"

"Because, as I said, this is not the first time we are having this conversation. I didn't always tell you, but the times I did it was very hard for me to convince you. So, I once asked for one secret that only you could know and have never shared. That was why you told me. In order for me to use that information to convince you I am telling the truth." He took a short pause. "Why do you think I asked you to come to the hacienda for lunch? I knew what was about to happen. Please, Victoria, do not be sad. Nothing is lost, and I cannot bear to see you in tears. I will find a way to fix all of this. I promise!"

"Why? Why can't you bear to see me cry, Diego? Why did you say you would kill yourself if something was to happen to me?"

"You already know why, Victoria!"

"You love me?" She asked nervously, not sure if she wanted him to say yes or no.

"I do." He replied. "And I will always do everything in my power to keep you safe!"

"But...I love Zorro..." She uttered, shaking.

"And you also love Diego, but you don't understand how can you be in love with two men at the same time. We have been through this so many times...Victoria, you love us both because we are the same man. Diego is Zorro and Zorro is Diego."

"That is..."

"Impossible? Yes, you say that a lot, too. I found that the easiest way to convince you is by kissing you. May I?

Diego was not waiting for a reply since he had kissed the woman thousands of times before, and could already see the smallest gestures indicating her willingness to be kissed.

"It is you!" She whispered just before returning his kiss with even more passion than he had shown her.

"You believe me now? Will you stop being sad? It is just temporary. I will do everything in my power to save Pilar. To save everybody, Victoria."

"You promise?"

"I solemnly swear."

"Alright. I trust you, Diego!"

"Shall we go downstairs? Mendoza should be returning soon from his patrol, and I need the information he is bringing."

"What about your deal with the Alcalde? Will you...?"

"I made that deal three times before, already. De Soto is always shot at 2:43, despite me warning him, and Mendoza always refuses to hear my name. He says he doesn't care who Zorro is. Hopefully this time he might bring some useful information."

"And if he changes his mind?" Victoria asked, hoping to hear a reassurance that he will not reveal his secret identity, no matter what.

"Tomorrow will be today again, Victoria. Even if he changes his mind, even if he executes me this very evening – which I very much doubt Mendoza would ever do -, my death will only be temporary. As I told you, I have died already many times, in many ways. I don't know how or why I am still here. There is some power out there which, for whatever reason, wants me alive and wants me to remember."

"I can't imagine losing you, Diego! Please don't tell them! Don't risk it!"

"You will never lose me, mi amor! You would never be that careless!" He assured her with a wink and was relieved to see a smile on her face.

They returned to the taproom where Don Alejandro and Felipe were waiting for them, just a few minutes before they heard Mendoza enter the plaza with his men. Diego hurried to greet them.

"Sergeant! Back already? Do you have any news about the bandits?" He asked with what seemed to Mendoza a little more interest than he expected from the caballero.

"Don Diego! It was terrible! But what happened here? Why is there so much blood on the ground?"

"Come, have a drink with us, and we shall share stories, Sergeant."

"I think the Alcalde is waiting for my news. I should go see him first."

"I am sorry to have to tell you this, but the Alcalde has been killed this afternoon, together with two of your men. You are now the new Alcalde, Mendoza." Diego informed his friend.

"Madre de Dios! Killed? By who?"

"By the bandits he had sent you to trace. Have you found anything?"

"We did not find the bandits. But we found something much worse! Is the Alcalde really dead, Don Diego?"

"I am afraid so! Why don't you and your men come to the tavern and tell us what you've found. I will treat you to some of Victoria's finest wine, and you must be famished!"

"We do need a drink, but I don't think any of us can eat after what we have seen today!"

The Sergeant and his men followed Diego inside, and Victoria brought them the wine Diego promised.

"What did you see, Sergeant?" Diego asked him as soon as Mendoza sat at the table, eager to get the information out of him. "What can be so terrible?"

"It was horrible, Don Diego! An entire Indian village slaughtered! Men, women, children, even infants!" Mendoza answered with tears in his eyes.

Diego looked at the Sergeant for a few moments. He seemed very affected by what he had seen.

"Where did you find that village?" He asked, wondering if that was finally the answer he had been looking for.

"Some 30 miles east, towards San Bernardino." Answered the military man. "It's hidden in a valley. I had never been there before and none of my men knew of its existence."

"Was anyone still alive when you got there?"

"Diego, why are you questioning the Sergent like that? Don't you see the man needs to recollect himself? If Zorro needs answers, he should get them himself, not put you in the middle of it!" Don Alejandro interveened.

"I understand your perspective, Father, but I still need the answers!" The younger don explained.

"Why?"

"Please, Father! I need the Sergent to tell me what he knows. It is more important than you think, and I don't have the time to explain to you why."

"Just a woman, Don Diego." Mendoza told him. "An old strange woman with tattoos on her face. I tried to talk to her, we wanted to take her to the Mission for the friars to help her, but she refused to move from her spot. She just stood there repeating something, over and over again. I believe she was mad."

"What exactly was she saying, Sergeant?"

"I don't know, Don Diego. I ...I think she was saying something about washing cows."

"Washing cows? Are you sure?"

"Si, Don Diego. She kept repeating cow wash."

Diego took a moment trying to search his head for a word that might sound similar to the ones Mendoza mentioned. The natives of the area were Tongva, so he tried to think about the words he knew in that language.

"Are you sure she was not saying 'kaweewesh' instead of cow wash, Sergeant?" Diego asked as he remembered the one word that seemed to be reminiscent of what the Sergeant had understood.

"I don't know, Don Diego. Maybe. What does Kawesh mean?"

"Kaweewesh. Fox, in Tongva." He replied pensive. "30 miles east, you said, Sergeant?" He asked again as he stood up.

"Si, Don Diego."

"Where are you going, Son? And since when do you speak Tongva?" Don Alejandro shouted after him.

"I feel the need for a ride, Father. Don't wait up." He answered, taking a short break to kiss Victoria on her forehead and give her a sad smile, then rushed towards his mare, and made his way towards the hacienda.

The sun was about to set when Zorro arrived at the Indian village. The sight was as horrible as Mendoza had described it. The place was littered with bodies, most of them shot, others with their throats cut. Infants were dead in their mother's arms, small children with petrified arms still clinging to their parents. Over 40 men, women, and children were all dead, their traditional weapons inefficient against guns and sharp swords. Whatever attack they had endured, it was over before they got any real chance to fight back. Looking closer, Zorro discovered among the bodies of the deceased, five dressed as vaqueros, two of which seemed familiar. Taking a good look at those men, he recognized two of them as the bandits which were in the tavern the time Felipe had been taken, hostage. He had seen them afterward a few times, even recently, so there was no doubt in his mind as to their identity.

"Sometimes they die, sometimes others do. Never more than eight of them." The voice of a woman told him in Tongva – a language he had, fortunately, learned rather well recently.

"Eight?" So more than 12, then. Defeating them that night was probably just a coincidence. Two or three more, and they would have succeeded. "I have seen them before." He replied, turning towards the woman. "What happened here?"

"They came one morning. As the sun was there." She said that pointing towards a place in the sky. "They just killed everyone. Except me. I think they fear killing me. When it first happened, I kneeled and prayed to the Spirits and the Spirits sent me a vision of a black fox. When I woke up the next morning everyone was alive. But the bad men came again and killed them. They come every morning and they all die again and again. I have tried to warn them. The men fought, the women and the children ran. But we always lose, the women and the children are captured, and everybody always die." The woman bowed her head and looked at the dead corpses of her people. "I don't know why they do it! We are a peaceful tribe. We live off the land. What have my people ever done to them?"

"Some men are just evil. They do not need reasons for being so. They just are." Zorro replied, looking angrily towards the deceased attackers.

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"I am Kaweewesh." He replied. "Zorro in my language. I should have come sooner, but I did not know I was supposed to come. I wasted so much time thinking only about myself."

"The vision told me that the fox will come when it will be ready, not before."

He smiled at the woman, but his smile was a sad one. He felt guilty for having allowed the massacre to happen so many times without doing anything to prevent it. He should have known sooner, he should have done a better job investigating what was going on. Instead, he only focused on saving those he loved and tending to his own needs and pleasures.

"I am not ready yet." He told the old woman. "These are ruthless killers. I can try, but I will not succeed on my own against them. I need a few more days to come up with a way to defeat them before they kill anyone."

"I have seen them all die many times already." She answered.

"I will return soon" he promised, "and I will do everything in my power so that your people might live to see another day."

"May the spirits guide you, Black Fox." The woman prayed as he was returning to Los Angeles.


	11. Tha Plan

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1418

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, got off his bed, put on a blue suit, and headed to his desk where he started writing. When he finished, he placed three letters in three different envelopes, marking them as Father, Victoria, and Ignacio. He took the envelopes with him, made his way to the kitchen to ask Maria for his breakfast to be served in the patio, then entered the library where he picked up the volume of Prometheus Unbound before going for breakfast. He calmly finished his meal and his coffee, patiently waiting for his father and his son to join him.

By the time Don Alejandro came, he was holding his book opened pretending to be reading, yet calculating his moves.

"Good morning, Diego!" His father greeted, still surprised to see his son up so early in the morning, despite it being a scene that tended to repeat itself for over three weeks.

"Good morning, Father!" Diego replied. "Do you, by any chance, know if Felipe is up, yet?"

"Felipe? Yes, I saw him heading towards the library. What is it with you two and your fascination for that room, Diego? If I didn't know better, I could swear the boy is actually your son!"

"He is my son, Father. I have adopted him." Diego reminded Don Alejandro, trying to switch the topic of the conversation away from the room where the access to the cave was located.

"It is not what I meant, Diego, but I do see your point. After all, you did raise the young man." Don Alejandro agreed.

"We both did, Father!" Diego replied and, noticing Felipe entering the courtyard, he poured him a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Felipe! Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Felipe signaled that he had had a nightmare, but he was ready for a new day.

"Is that one of your new books, Diego?" His father decided to let curiosity get the best of him.

"Yes" He answered. "Prometheus Unbound, by Shelly. It makes for an interesting read."

"It certainly has an interesting title." Don Alejandro remarked. "I saw you bought over 30 new books on your visit to the port yesterday. I must say, I was actually expecting you to stay up reading them for at least one month, but I am certainly glad to see you decided to do your reading in the morning."

"You never know, Father. I might just return to my old habits one of these days." Diego replied with a grin.

As Don Alejandro and Felipe were eating their breakfasts, the conversation lingered for a while on the topic of books, then re-focused on issues regarding work at the ranch. Around 9 a.m., when Don Alejandro stood up, due to head for his office, decided to catch up with some of the accounting, Diego handed him an envelope, and asked him to wait half an hour before reading it. His father watched him curiously but, eventually, accepted, and promised to wait before reading it. Diego and Felipe then directed themselves towards Los Angeles, informing Don Alejandro that he would be working for The Guardian.

They entered the tavern to find Victoria still serving breakfast to her devoted patrons, among which the Alcalde and Sergent Mendoza.

"Buenos dias, Senores!" She greeted them as they neared the bar.

"Good morning, Victoria!" Diego replied with a big smile, unable to completely disguise the love radiating from his eyes. "I hope you have prepared a lot of lemonade this morning, since it's already almost unbearably hot out there!"

"Pilar is just preparing a new jar, Diego." She answered. "Nice and fresh for my favorite customers!"

"I thought I was your favorite customer, Senorita Escalante." Sergeant Mendoza uttered from a table near the door, which he was sharing with the Alcalde.

"You certainly are my most faithful customer, Sergeant!" She replied with a charming smile. "Don Alejandro is not coming, Diego?" She asked, turning towards her favorite customer.

"No. He is catching up with some bookkeeping this morning." He replied, silently greeting the Alcalde and Mendoza, and heading with Felipe for a table next to theirs.

"You know, Don Diego," De Soto opened the conversation, just as Victoria brought the jar of fresh lemonade and two glasses "I always found that the best morning drink for true men is a nice glass of Port. Don't you agree, Sergeant?"

"Port is very nice, mi Alcalde!" Mendoza answered, more than happy to be consulted, and feeling certain he had the correct answer.

"To each his own, Alcalde!" Diego answered, unwilling to set himself up for another derogatory remark from his former colleague.

"That is true." Accepted De Soto. "After all, men do come in all shapes and sizes. You know, Diego, I am sure some fencing lessons from Sergeant Mendoza might go a long way to getting you started in the right direction and, since I am feeling rather generous, I might even throw in some lessons with myself. I understand you would be highly outclassed, but I will do my best to go easy on you! What do you say?"

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, Ignacio." Diego replied."The truth is I had no idea you were a master swordsman, since Zorro seems to always have so little trouble defeating you!"

"I try to be generous and you insist on spoiling my day by mentioning that... that... arch being, Diego!" De Soto replied, frustrated his plan of humiliating Diego had backfired. "Come on, Sergeant! We have work to do! Unlike others, we cannot afford to waste our time when there is an entire pueblo counting on us to defend it!"

"Before I bid you a good day, Ignacio, I have prepared something for you." Diego said while standing up and giving his former colleague a sealed envelope. "Read it after you arrive in your office, Alcalde." Diego asked. "You might find it interesting."

ZZZ

"What is this, Diego?" Victoria asked, rushing out of the kitchen, a paper in her hands.

"Exactly what it says!" He answered. "Please send Pilar home and close the tavern for now. My father, the Alcalde, and Mendoza will be returning soon, and we all need to have a private discussion."

"A private discussion?" She asked, nervously considering the men eating breakfast, while Felipe's face was turning white. "Wh..Wh...What kind of private discussion, Diego? And why close the tavern?"

"I will explain everything soon, Victoria. Just trust me, and please do as I asked." He replied on a tone indicative of an order rather than a request.

Victoria looked at him, her face betraying confusion and more than a little annoyance, then took another look at the paper in her hand. Turning towards Pilar, she simply sent her home without explanation, then headed for the other people sat in the tavern and asked them to do the same, offering to renounce the payment for their meals and drinks. A couple of minutes after the three of them were left alone, the relative silence of the tavern was interrupted by De Soto, furiously entering, Mendoza on his heels.

"What is this, De la Vega?" Ignacio asked, handing him a paper similar to the one Victoria was holding.

"I will explain in a few minutes. As soon as my father also gets here. Meanwhile, why don't you take a seat?" He replied before calmly taking a sip of his lemonade.

For a few minutes they all stared at each other in disbelief, all waiting for Diego's explanations. Don Alejandro entered the tavern visibly shaken, not long after the Alcalde, and paused at noticing the tavern was empty except for them. Diego got up and invited his father to take his seat, then headed for the tavern's front door and locked it, doing the same with the one in the back. Returning to the main hall, where everybody was awaiting, he leaned with his back to the bar and considered his words for a moment.

"Well?" De Soto asked as his patience was coming to an end.

"You never wait, do you, Ignacio?" Diego began, but continued without giving the Alcalde the time to answer. "Those papers you are holding are just meant to prove that what I am about to tell you is the truth. Because the explanation for them will seem... strange. However, unless you are willing to believe I have supernatural powers and see into the future, I am sure they will, at least, give you the suspicion that what I'll be telling you is true."

"What are you saying, Son? Why are we here? What is the meaning of this?" Don Alejandro inquired, reflecting the others' own thoughts.

"I was able to write those papers in the morning because we had already had the conversations you see on them. Many times. And the reason for that, the reason why you don't remember, is that this day, 23rd of January1821 keeps repeating itself. It is some form of loop and we are all trapped with no tomorrow in sight. This day has restarted over a thousand times. I, myself have long since lost track. You don't remember, but I do, which is why I was able to predict everything each of you said before you said it. But, predict is not the right word, is it? Remembered. I remembered our conversations because we had them enough times for me to know them by heart. That is also the reason why I asked you here."

"Nonsense! You are wasting my day, Don Diego!" De Soto informed him.

"Nonsense! You are wasting my day, Don Diego!" Diego uttered the words at the same time as the Alcalde, making him shut up as Mendoza was looking at them open-mouthed. "Yes...you have also said that the other times we did this, Ignacio." He added. "You have always been the most difficult one to convince. More stubborn than my father!"

"I...I don't understand, Diego." Victoria decided to make her presence felt. "Why do you remember and not us?"

"I asked myself that many times. I think I have finally found the right answer to that question, but I cannot share it until you are convinced that what I say is true, which you are not… yet." He continued his explanations. "So let's consider this 'phase one'. What will happen next is that Victoria will reopen the tavern and we will all go about our own business, but we will meet in front of the Mission at 2:20 pm for 'phase two'. Ignacio, just to make sure you will listen, I apparently need to tell you that last Christmas you saw your sister make you a cookie – whatever that means. You said that will at least intrigue you enough to keep listening."

De Soto, who was about to retort that he is not going to put up with this nonsense any longer suddenly became even paler than he usually was, starting to look more like a ghost than a man. He stood up, glanced at Diego and silently exited the tavern.

Diego had to answer his father's questions for a while longer, but only ended up giving him half-answers, too puzzling for the old don to understand.

Later, as previously decided, they all met in front of the Mission, then followed Diego towards the bell tower. Once there, he asked them to gag and tie each-other explaining that was the only way to prevent them from doing something stupid, and informed them that 8 bandits were going to enter the pueblo in a few minutes, headed for the tavern. As they watched the men, hidden in such a way that they could not be seen, De Soto wondered if perhaps De la Vega had paid them to do what he wanted them to do, but continued listening to him, intrigued non-the-less as to the reasons for his strange behavior.

"They will soon rob the tavern." Diego restarted telling them, putting his hand on Victoria's shoulder to calm her down. "They have already done that many times." He told her. "There's no point in changing anything right now. Just watch. They will make their way out with four prisoners, Dona Emilia, Pilar, Don Fernandez, and Senor Machego. Four of the lancers will try to stop them and two of them will be shot by the bandits – Serrano and Montez. Galvez will shoot the fifth bandit coming out of the tavern through the heart. While he will fall to the ground, his pistol will discharge and accidentally kill Dona Emilia. The rest of the hostages, they will take with them, and shoot right beneath the wooden board welcoming people to Los Angeles, discarding the bodies right there." He ended, holding tighter to Victoria who was panicking. "Please, Victoria! I know this will be painful, but it is the only way to make you all believe me. Tomorrow they will all be alright again. Pilar will be alive and you will forget this has ever happened! I promise."

Hidden there, they witnessed the scenes Diego had described. When it was all over, both amazed and grief-struck, they descended the stairs and found themselves back into the plaza where people were fussing over the bodies.

"Alcalde, I believe you have to attend to your dead men right now." Diego instructed. "Victoria, please close the tavern again. We will all meet there in one hour to discuss more."

One hour later, the five of them were sitting in the tavern, in complete silence, waiting for Diego to make an appearance.

"Everybody is here! Perfect!" He said at entering and locking the doors.

"Is this when you give us an explanation, Diego? How in the world is all this possible?" His father asked, but found himself at a loss of words.

"I will tell you everything I know but, before that, I would appreciate it, Ignacio, if you and Mendoza would kindly hand me your swords."

"Why?" Ignacio asked suspiciously.

"Because, as I said, I have been through this conversation before, and I don't intend to repeat my mistakes." Diego declared. The two men eventually agreed to give him their sabers, which he placed behind the bar.

"The first time this happened, about 15 people died, Victoria, myself and the Sergeant included." He started telling them. "The second time the day repeated itself, I lost Felipe. The third time it was you, Father, and Ignacio was also shot in his bed. For a few days I was convinced it was just a dream, a warning, so that I could find a way to save everyone. Don't ask it now, Father!" He said, turning towards Don Alejandro who had to swallow his question. "I will answer it later, anyway. Just have a little patience! Coming back to my story, as I was saying, every time I tried to make things better, one of us always ended up dead, until I finally succeeded in preventing all casualties. I thought that way it would all end, but the day started again and, as it did, I eventually decided to give up fixing it. I thought it was not, perhaps, for me to change anything. I have meanwhile learned that I was wrong to give up, just as I was wrong in assuming I needed to save you. As it turns out, this is not about you and is not about me. Or, perhaps, it is about me.. about all of us… in a way." He took a break letting his story sink in. "It took me some time to get to the root cause of this issue, and it would have taken me longer were it not for Sergeant Mendoza's help."

"My help, Don Diego? How did I help you?" The Sergeant asked.

"It was you and your men who discovered the remains of an Indian village situated some 30 miles from Los Angeles, towards San Bernardino. All its people had been slaughtered on the morning of February 23rd. Today. I only found them because you did your duty well, Mendoza."

"So, you believe it is that slaughter that needs be prevented, Diego?" Don Alejandro inquired, more and more fascinated with the story.

"I am convinced of that." Diego answered.

"What was the Sergeant doing there?" De Soto questioned. "I don't usually send my men on patrol that far away."

"They were there because we had made a deal, Ignacio."

"What deal? What can you have possibly offered me, De la Vega, to convince me to send my men on such a patrol?"

"A name. Zorro's, to be more precise."

"Zorro's name? You want me to believe you know who Zorro is?"

"I do. I always have." He answered as Felipe was watching his father in terror.

"You do, Diego?" Victoria asked him incredulously.

"Well, well. So you finally admit to being in league with that criminal!" De Soto uttered.

"In league? No. Not exactly."

"Then how could you possibly know?" Ignacio inquired.

"Because I am Zorro." Diego simply replied. "That, I believe, it's also the answer to your question, Father. You wanted to ask earlier 'Why me?'. Apparently, whatever force made all this possible, wants for me to help stop the massacre."

"I...I did...but you can't be Zorro, Diego!" Don Alejandro rejected his son's statement as everyone was staring at Diego, unable to decide if to believe him or not.

"My patience is really running low." Diego admitted as he took a deep breath. "I have confessed to being Zorro to everyone in this room at least 100 times by now. That not mentioning the times you each figure it out by yourselves when you discovered the cave, or when I was dying after one of the shootouts. I could quote by memory every one of the conversations I had with each of you. For example I could remind you, Ignacio, about what I have told you the morning after you first arrived in Los Angeles. Let me see if I remember the words right… 'You have a great deal to learn about me and the people of this pueblo. Treat them fairly and openly, and there's nothing they won't do for you. But if you treat them with cruelly, they'll repay you with defiance. And I'll ride out…'"

Ignacio interrupted that phrase by launching upon Diego, decided to strangle his archenemy. Anticipating the attack, the caballero made a gracious 360 degrees turn, stepping out of De Soto's way, and leaving him to stumble, crashing on the bar. He then reached for the Alcalde's sword and pointed it at his former colleague's neck.

"Madre de Dios!" Mendoza and Victoria uttered at the same time at seeing Diego's reaction.

"As I told you, Ignacio, we have already been through this." Diego reminded him. "Now, please, be so kind as to return to your seat. We have not finished our conversation."

"You really are Zorro, Don Diego!" The Sergeant exclaimed.

Diego nodded and made Ignacio sit back at the table.

"I will hang you for this!" De Soto warned him.

"You already have" Diego answered. "Strangely enough, I had to beg you to do it. It was during the time I thought I was supposed to die to avoid this day from repeating itself. I came into your office one day, dressed as Zorro, and took off the mask giving myself up. What I found rather disconcerting was your unexpected reluctance to keep your promise when you found out it was me to have thwarted your plans for all these years."

Ignacio turned from defiance to disappointment, partly because he regretted not remembering seeing Zorro hang, and partly because he realized he did not want to see Diego hang.

"That can't be true!" Don Alejandro protested. "I would have never allowed it!"

"It was a rather private hanging. In the cuartel's patio. Ignacio agreed with me that making the event public was not necessary."

"You...you actually remember...dying, Don Diego?" Mendoza wondered.

"I do, Sergeant. I remember being hanged, shot, stabbed, poisoned and drowned. I died tens of times, and I remember them all."

The room fell silent for a while.

"How do you know that by saving those Indians you can fix time, Diego? And how can we help?" Victoria interrupted that silence.

"When I first went there, the evening Sergeant Mendoza told me about the massacre, I found the only other person able to remember that this day is repeating itself. An old woman who...let's say she enlightened me as to what I need to do. Since then, I have witnessed the attack several times. You see, when the bandits first came here, I had thought there were only 8 of them, the same number we have just witnessed attacking the tavern. Then they blew up the armory, and I came to realize there were 12 of them. After first visiting the village I had thought their true number must have been around 20, but then I saw it all happen. There are 28 men, all heavily armed, all with a complete disregard for human life. The reason I had no idea how many they were from the start was that they had split after the attack, and some headed for San Bernardino instead of Los Angeles. Those Indians never stood a chance, and neither do I. Not by myself!" He admitted. "So you are all here because I need your help in coming up with a plan to save those people."

"You actually want me to help the mighty Zorro catch some criminals? I would rather put you behind bars. You may be right, and I might not be so inclined to seeing you hang, Diego, but I have nothing against turning you in, to the authorities in Monterrey, and cashing the reward for your capture. I am sure the Governor will have no issue with making a spectacle out of your execution and I will be able to leave this place and return to Spain..." De Soto answered defiantly.

"'Where the world shall be your oyster.' Yes, you said that the last time we had this meeting, as well. However, you must realize, Ignacio, that once the day is restarting, even if you do put me in your jail, I'll still wake up in my bed, and you'll still have no idea who Zorro is." Diego pointed out.

"If we had this meeting before, that means..." Don Alejandro uttered.

"It means that our previous attempts failed, Father! But I didn't include all of you before, so maybe, this time, we can come up with something better." Diego explained.

"Will you give yourself up when this is over?" De Soto asked.

"No. Zorro is still needed and I have already died enough times." Diego answered.

"So I have absolutely no reason to help." Ignacio concluded, standing up to leave.

"Maybe I will go back to Victoria's plan in that case." Diego considered.

"My plan, Diego?"

"Yes, Victoria. You had once suggested making Ignacio resign and name my father in his place, considering he is more reasonable to deal with and has no quarrel with Zorro. You thought the loop was a result of God running out of patience with De Soto's actions. I actually put that plan into practice, but it didn't work out exactly as expected. It was a good day, don't get me wrong, but it started again anyway."

"Quarrel with Zorro! The only quarrel I might have with you, Diego, is for keeping this secret from me all these years! Why did you never tell me? This is not how I would have wanted to find out!"

"As I said, this is not the first time you found out and, to be fair, you were always terrible at keeping it a secret. Every time I told you, you made sure that at least one more person found out by the end of the day. Furthermore, you did once confess to me that you would prefer not knowing."

"You're Zorro and not even your father knew?" De Soto asked incredulously, and Diego shook his head as a response.

"Alright. I guess I can help this once. But, if you have no intention of surrendering to me, I at least want something in return." De Soto stated.

"The reward money for my capture?" Diego asked. "I already promised you a few times that I will find a way for you to get the money… or their equivalent in some form. Maybe I will convince Father to give you some of our vineyards. This assuming you actually come up with something useful."

"Never!" Uttered Don Alejandro. "He has been trying to kill my only son for years!"

"True. But you won't remember that, Father, and we both know I can be quite persuasive when I want to. Not to mention you warmed up to the Alcalde since he saved my life, last year. So, yes, I will find a way but I will also need to find the right occasion. I don't want you to suspect why I would suddenly decide to give you a small fortune."

"You will?" De Soto could hardly believe it.

"You have my word and I will keep it, even if you'll have forgotten this conversation." Diego assured him.

"Alright, then." De Soto finally accepted with some enthusiasm. "So why don't you start by telling us just how miserably have you failed so far?"

"Always the perfect diplomat, aren't you, Ignacio?" Diego's question was rhetorical. "I have, so far, tried to prevent the attack three times. Once by using explosives, which did a lot to startle the horses, but less to prevent the massacre. And my death, for that matter. The second time, I convinced you, Ignacio, and the lancers to intervene, but you couldn't stop yourself from shooting me in the back, and eventually got everybody killed, including yourself and your men. The third time I only asked for my father's help, and we rode there with 12 of our vaqueros and a lot of explosives, but they overwhelmed us anyway and the result was the same."

Felipe signaled something.

"You think we should not wait for the bandits to get there? We should attack them before, when they don't expect us?" Diego translated.

"That is a good idea, Felipe!" Don Alejandro confirmed.

"It is, but the problem remains that the attack takes place at nine in the morning. We barely have the time to gather the men and ride there." Diego explained and Felipe lost all his enthusiasm.

"If there are less than 30 of them, and the lancers were to combine forces with the vaqueros, you might stand a chance." Victoria pointed out.

"I thought about that, as well. Ignacio here remains the main challenge." Diego emphasized.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Retorted De Soto

"It means you want to shoot my son in the back!" Don Alejandro yelled, and Ignacio frowned at him.

"He's a two-faced criminal!" He muttered.

"What if the Alcalde doesn't go?" Suggested Mendoza. "Make the Alcalde give me and my men the orders to follow you, and knock him out or something."

"Are you begging to be court-martialed, Sergeant?" De Soto inquired.

"No… The Sergeant has a good idea! If the Alcalde is not there, he cannot shoot you, Diego!" Don Alejandro concluded.

"Fine… You can knock me out as long as you don't do it with one of your punches, if at all possible!" De Soto almost begged.

"It is. But it will be less fun for me." Diego grinned at De Soto's new frown. "Alright, Alcalde. I promise to use ether."

"I will probably add that to your list of crimes, if I remember the incident." Ignacio assure him.

"Let's hope you will." Diego replied. "Yes, it might work. 34 men stand a good chance against 28, even if they are not as willing to kill in cold blood. But I am not sure that is enough, and I would rather prevent all casualties on our side."

Felipe signaled something again.

"No, I can't use ether against them, Felipe. It's not like I can ask them politely to pause the attack and smell a cloth." Diego answered his son, and Victoria found herself chuckling at imagining the scene.

"How about that nasty crying gas of yours? Can't you use that?" De Soto suggested.

"That is, in fact, a good idea, Alcalde! I guess you truly want those vineyards. Yes, I do believe you may be on to something!" Diego answered pensively, the spark in his eyes indicating to Felipe that his father was already finalizing a plan in his head.

"On to what, Diego?" Don Alejandro demanded to know.

"The crying gas might prevent them from a clear attack. Yes, I think it might work. I could find a way to combine my crying gas bombs with my time-delay explosive devices, and make sure they go off right before those criminals get near the tribe. It might slow them down enough for us to rapidly gain the upper hand, and they will be unable to make clear shots. I just hope the wind will blow in the right direction. That is one factor I never considered."

"Let's hope it does! In that case, I believe we have a plan, son!" Don Alejandro emphasized proudly.

"I believe we do." He agreed. "Just one more problem: last time, I had to tell you I was Zorro to convince you to help me. How do I enlist your support without revealing to you that piece of information, Father?"

"I don't suppose ether would help in my case, would it, Diego?"

"I'd prefer you conscious. You are a very good shot."

"Have you tried to enlist my support as Diego or as Zorro?"

"As Diego."

"Then try to do it as Zorro!"

"Won't you find it strange for Zorro to wake you up at 6 a.m.?"

"Probably. But Zorro took a bullet for me, and I do owe him one. Oh, my God, you took a bullet for me, Diego!"

"Let's not dwell on that, shall we? You did a good job at removing it. I believe we are all set then. Zorro will pay you two a visit in the morning!" Diego said glancing at his father and at De Soto.

"Yes. Well...I believe I will escort you to jail now!" Ignacio informed him.

"Why? What would be the point, Alcalde?" Diego questioned and De Soto tried to think for a while but, unable to decide on a good reason, just stood up, gave the tall caballero a disapproving look and, recovering his sword, headed for his quarters, closely followed by Mendoza.

"Maybe it is time for us to leave, as well!" Don Alejandro suggested as the time was almost 7 pm.

"No! I...I think I need to talk to you, Diego!" Victoria told him.

Diego went to her, caressed her cheek, and bent to whisper something in her ear, then turned towards his father and Felipe, indicating that he was ready to return home. Once at the hacienda, he went to the cave, followed by Felipe and his father, who, as many times before, spent a good deal of time admiring Tornado. Meanwhile, Diego worked on finding a proper way to combine his two experiments, so that he would take less time redoing that in the morning. After dinner, when Don Alejandro and Felipe retired for the evening, Diego returned to the cave, dressed as Zorro, and returned to Los Angeles where he slipped into Victoria's room, waiting for her to close the tavern for the night.

"Zo...Diego?" She asked at noticing him there, while putting the candle she was holding on her nightstand.

He grinned and took off his hat and his mask. Victoria came to him smiling, caressed his cheek and his hair, then gave him a passionate kiss, dragging him with her towards the bed.

"What are you doing, Victoria?" Diego asked her when he was finally able to pull away from her embrace.

"I will forget about it tomorrow, won't I? But you will remember! You will remember and, even if I won't always be nice to you in the future, even if I'll sometimes hurt you with my words, you will still know I love you with all my being. You will know that there is nothing I won't do for you, Diego, and you will forgive me." She answered.

"I already know that, my love. I am only here because, if the plan succeeds, it might take me a while before I can be with you again. I just wanted to feel you falling asleep in my arms one more time." He told her.

"One more time?"

"Si, Victoria. Perhaps I will tell you about that someday." He answered.

"All those times you lived through this day, Diego, have you ever made love to me?"

"I did. Most of those days. But I also married you first!" He confessed.

"So I am your wife already, aren't I? And, as your wife, I believe I have some duties to my husband…"

This was his time to chuckle.

"You do have a point, there." He answered and considered his actions. "Perhaps I'll give in to temptation just this one time. After all, I am only human!"


	12. Fixing things

January 23rd, 1821/ Day 1419

The first ray of sun hit his face like a punch. Diego woke up instantly, got off his bed, put on his robe, took one of his suits and a white shirt, and headed for the cave. He rapidly changed clothes, wrote a message, prepared the crying-gas-filled time-delay devices, placing them in two sacks, took a cloth, o small bottle of ether and, mounting on Tornado, made his way around to the hacienda. Once there, he slipped in through a window, leaving his stallion in the courtyard. Entering Felipe's room, he woke him up, gave him the note he had written earlier, and only stopped to explain that they needed to act quickly. Leaving his son to get prepared, he sneaked down the corridor and into his father's quarters.

"Don Alejandro!" He whispered while putting one of his hands on the old don's mouth, and raising a finger at his, signaling the need to be quiet.

When he realized his father was now fully aware that he needed to keep his voice down, he removed his hand.

"Zorro! What are you doing here?" Don Alejandro asked.

"Forgive me for barging in in such a manner, but I do not have much time, Senor, and I need your assistence." He began to explain, minding his tone. "I have information about an attack against an Indian camp situated 30 miles from here. I cannot prevent it by myself, nor save all those people alone, thus I am here to ask for your help."

"My help? Of course, Zorro! What can I do?" Asked his father.

"I need you to gather a group of vaqueros - at least 10-12 loyal men – and ride with me to help protect those people. I will go to Los Angeles and convince the Alcalde to also contribute 20 of his lancers and we will join you here in about an hour. Get your men ready by then, and make sure they are all armed with pistols and muskets. You may also inform them that the attackers all have prices on their heads, so they will all share in the reward for their capture." Zorro replied.

"I will gather my men, Zorro, but how exactly are you going to convince the Alcalde to send his lancers with you?"

"Leave that to me, Don Alejandro. We will be here in an hour. There is no time to lose!" Zorro assured him. "Oh... and, Don Alejandro... I believe it best not to involve the other members of your family in this. I am sure a note about your whereabouts would suffice until your return."

"Don't worry, Zorro." Don Alejandro assured him with a rather sad grin. "I don't see any reason to place them in any danger, and God knows my son and grandson wouldn't be of much help. My men and I will be waiting in front of the hacienda, in an hour." He added.

As soon as the conversation was done, Zorro hurried towards Los Angeles at full gallop. There, he entered the Alcalde's room and woke him up.

"Good morning, Alcalde!" He uttered as the man looked at him, his eyes dangerously close to escaping his face.

De Soto sat up straight at once and begun yelling for Mendoza and the lancers, much to Zorro's amusement. With a few sudden movements, the masked bandit tied up his hands and legs, leaving him to continue shouting, then pulled out his sword and pointed it to the Alcalde's neck. That was the scene Mendoza and his lancers saw as they came in, half-dressed, stumbling into their superior's chamber. The cold steel of the Toledo blade pointed at his throat silenced De Soto, and they all stood there frozen for a few seconds, waiting for the masked man to speak.

"I am here, Alcalde, because I need your men's help in my mission today." He started.

"If the mission is to hang you, I can assure you of our full support, Zorro!" The Alcalde retorted defiantly, realizing he was not in any mortal danger at that exact moment.

"This mission, Alcalde, is about saving lives, rather than ending them." The masked man clarified, and pushed his sword a little deeper into De Soto's skin to stop him from making any other stupid remark. "Now, what I need you to do is to order the good Sergeant here, as well as his lancers to follow my orders today. As I said, I will need their help."

De Soto chuckled but, by doing so, he felt a small cut in his neck and realized this archenemy was in no mood for jokes.

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"Is my sword not compelling enough?" Zorro wondered with a wicked smile on his face, pressing his blade even further, and making De Soto believe he might decide to kill him after all.

"How do I know my men will return alive and well, if I instruct them to follow you? For all I know, you will be leading them to their deaths."

"If that were my intention, Alcalde" he replied "I would simply kill them rather than come here to request their assistence! As I said," he assured him, "I need their help, not their lives!"

De Soto pondered the situation. He knew that Zorro was hardly inclined to kill anyone and had on occasion even saved his life, as well as the lives of his men. But the fiend was an unpredictable bandit with a price on his head. An outlaw with a sword at his neck...

"Sergeant!" Ignacio instructed after considering his enemy's words "Do as he says!"

"Si Alcalde!" Mendoza replied.

"Chose 19 of your men, and wait for me in front of the cuartel, Sergeant" Zorro instructed. "And be so kind as to inform them that I am your commander for today, not your target. I will make it worth their efforts, I can assure you! Is that clear, Mendoza?"

"It is very clear, Zorro!" He answered with enthusiasm, and hurried his men out to get them ready.

"If you take 20 lancers, there will only be four left to defend the pueblo!" De Soto pointed out.

"Two, actually, Alcalde." Zorro told him. "As we both know, Faroles and Pena are ill, so they will not be much help, will they? But don't worry. The pueblo will not need protection today, and I will make sure to return at least part of your men before siesta time."

"I will add this to your list of crimes, Zorro!" De Soto threatened.

"Yes. You already said that before. Now, since I no longer need you..." Zorro uttered, carefully removing his sword from his former university colleague's neck

"You wouldn't dare kill me!" The Alcalde protested, fearing the worst.

"No...not today, at least." Zorro answered with a grin. "But I do think it is time you went back to sleep!"

"Not another punch!" De Soto braced himself and closed his eyes.

"Not this time." Zorro answered a little disappointed, taking out a bottle and a cloth. "A promise is a promise." He added as he made the Alcalde sniff the ether, thus causing him to fall back into his bed. "Have a good rest, Ignacio!" He wished the unconscious De Soto as he left the room.

The lancers were anxiously waiting for him as he exited the Alcalde's office, armed and prepared to follow Zorro. Leading them towards the De la Vega Hacienda, he explained the situation and his plan, instructing the men as to how they needed to act once the attack had started. At the hacienda, they were joined by Don Alejandro and 12 vaqueros and they directed towards San Bernardino, urging their mounts to go as fast as they possibly could. Felipe followed the party from a distance, as per Diego's instructions, carrying four muskets and making sure he would not be spotted.

They arrived at the Indian village at 9 am sharp, already tired from the difficult ride there. The old woman was waiting for them, together with the leaders of the tribe, and was happy to see that the Black Fox had finally managed to bring the needed help.

Dismounting, Zorro proceeded in setting and burying the time-delay devices, after checking for the direction of the wind and noticing it was blowing in the direction from which he knew the bandits would come. During this time, Don Alejandro instructed the men to take their positions in front of the Indian camp and stay law on the ground, pistols and muskets primed. Felipe watched the preparations, and decided to head for a spot a little further away, in a shallow ravine, hiding behind some big boulders, with his muskets ready.

Just as before, the 28 armed men came charging at 9:20 but, this time, as they were approaching the camp the gas bombs exploded, impeding their view. Felipe was the first to shoot down one of the bandits and, as soon as he fired, the lancers and the vaqueros followed, wounding over half of the attackers, who had not expected resistance. By the time the blood-thirsty men arrived at the edges of the Indian village, only ten of them were still on their horses, their pistols already useless. A few of Zorro's lashes disarmed those who had the chance to take out their swords, while the lancers and the Indian warriors jumped the others. The ensuing battle was short-lived, one more bullet from Felipe's musket eventually saving Don Alejandro's life just before the attack was finished.

Once the fighting was done, they checked on their men and were relieved to realize none of the lancers or the vaqueros suffered any major injury. Mendoza's arm was scratched by a bullet and another of his lancers had a deep cut on his leg, but neither of the injuries prevented them from riding back safely, after the wounds had been carefully dressed and cared for by the old Indian woman. The vaqueros and Don Alejandro were uninjured and hurried to gather and further disarm the already-wounded attackers, tying and mounting them on their horses, in a position reminiscent of potato sacks. Since all the attackers had prices on their heads, the reward money was among the incentives for the vaqueros to offer their services in capturing them. A total of 26.000 pesos – a huge sum for the time – was to be shared among the 12 vaqueros and 22 lancers which were present there on the day. Zorro advised Mendoza to organize the transfer of the prisoners to Monterey instead of returning them to Los Angeles, where the jail was too small to accommodate so many dangerous individuals. For that reason, the party split in two, fifteen men, including six vaqueros and 9 lancers, riding towards the Californian capital with the prisoners, while the other men were returning to the pueblo.

Zorro watched them heading in opposite directions and joined the old woman who was praying by a fire.

"Is it done?" He asked her when she finally raised her head and smiled at him.

The woman gazed into his eyes with gratitude and took a look around, happy to see all her people alive and safe once more.

"It is as the spirits promised." She answered. "Tomorrow will be a new day."

Zorro smiled and thanked her, then stood up and headed for his stallion.

"One more thing, Kaweewesh!" She voiced out, and he turned around to face her. "The spirits returned last night to give a warning. They say that a big battle lies ahead for you. You will know it is near when your enemy will become your brother. They also said that, for you to win it, you will need to take off the black and trust your heart."

He looked at her in bewilderment. Diego had many times refuted the idea of the supernatural. All that happens, happens within nature, he thought. But, since he had become Zorro, he had been visited by an Angel, met Santa Claus, and had relived the same day over 1000 times. He thus admitted to himself that, even if Diego was a man of science, prone to refuting ideas based on faith and superstition, Zorro somehow found himself emerged in a world filled with things and events science could not possibly explain. So he thanked the woman for her warning and took her words to heart, memorizing them determined to meditate on their meaning.

He met up with Felipe about 2 miles from the Indian camp and they rode together, while he regaled his son with stories about the day he was the only one in Los Angeles to remember reliving. He knew his son needed some explanation for their morning adventure and was, after all, the only person whom he knew would believe him. He also shared with the younger man the warning he had received from the spirits, and they had a long debate as to the meaning of those words.

"The only thing I have not fully considered, Felipe," he realized at some point during their journey, "is how to explain our absence. Have you remembered to take Esperanza to the cave?"

Felipe signaled that he had done everything as instructed.

"You did? We have that. Now I must only find some plausible excuse for having been away from the hacienda half of the day."

Felipe gestured something again.

"Out collecting rocks? I am sure we can find some better excuse than my sudden urge to collect pretty stones, Felipe!"

At that point, his son took out of his sash a rock and gave it to him.

"Where did you find this?" Zorro asked after examining it.

Felipe signaled that it was in the ravine where he was hiding, near the Indian tribe.

"I must go back, Felipe!" He realized. "You go home without me! I will be back later. Tell Father I am working on an article for The Guardian!" He exclaimed, and steered Tornado at full speed back in the direction from whence they came.

Returning to the Indian village, he did not stop, but headed for the rocks, checked to see if there were other stones like the one Felipe had found and, easily finding another one, he mounted back on his stallion and steered him towards Monterey.

He rode fast in order to catch up with the men escorting the prisoners. An hour later, the lancers spotted Zorro's dark silhouette heading at full speed towards them and stopped to wait for him.

"Something wrong, Senor Zorro?" Sepulveda asked as he reached them.

"Where's the leader?" He asked. "Where's Manuel?"

Instead of a reply, the men just stared at him open-mouthed as he started studying the face of each bandit, in search of the man he was looking for. He found Manuel and brutally pulled him off the horse, turning him around.

"Who hired you?" He asked in a menacing tone. "Who asked you to kill those people?"

The bandit stared at him and began laughing.

"You have a thousand pesos bounty on your head and you will hang. You have nothing to gain by staying silent. Give me the name, and, maybe, the lancers here will ask the Governor to be merciful and put you in front of a firing squad! Hanging is a terrible way to day, I assure you." Zorro tried to persuade the man.

Manuel looked at him defiantly and refused to answer.

"Do you even know why?" Zorro asked. "Because I do."

"You know nothing!" Manuel retorted.

"I know he wants their land!" Zorro pointed out.

"If you know that, why don't you find out the rest on your own?"

"I don't have the time for that! I certainly don't have time for your stubbornness" Zorro answered, pressing his hand onto a musket wound on Manuel's leg, and making him scream in pain.

"Don Pablo Calar!" The bandit screamed. "He just wanted us to get rid of the tribe, and said he didn't care how! He promised to pay us 5000 pesos tomorrow!" He continued in the hope the masked outlaw would stop.

"It wasn't so hard then, was it?" Zorro grinned as he stopped torturing the man. "Sepulveda! See that the Governor also receives that information!"

"I will, Senor Zorro!" The lancer confirmed, his admiration for his masked friend at an all-time high.

Zorro let the men go on their way, and returned to the Indian village where the tribe stopped all activities to welcome him back.

"Here!" He said, taking out the two stones and showing them to the leaders of the tribe. "This is why you were attacked this morning. They are in the ravine. It is gold, valuable for my people, and ruthless men will stop at nothing to claim it!" He warned.

The men looked at him in confusion. They had encountered those rocks before but it had never crossed their minds that white men would kill just to get their hands on some nice-looking stones.

"Will they come again?" The old woman asked him.

"They might. Someone is bound to find out there is gold on your land, and they might try again to take it from you." He answered.

"What can we do?" One of the leaders asked.

"I will make sure the man who is behind this morning's attack receives his punishment. But he might have already told others, or some corrupt official may find out. I am afraid you may never be safe here, my friends!"

"But we have always lived on this land! The spirits of our ancestors are here. They protect us. If we leave here, they will not find us." The old woman told him.

Zorro took some minutes to think. If he was truly to help those people, he needed to come up with a plan that would not mean them leaving, nor living in constant danger. He looked at the stones still in his hand.

"Do you know where these stones come from?" He asked.

"We do. Sometimes, when the stream grows, it floods a nearby cave and brings these rocks with it." The old woman informed him.

"Can you show me?"

The people of the tribe took him about a mile up the stream and showed him a small underground cave, its entrance barely big enough for small animals to crawl in.

"I can show you how to mine this gold. It is very valuable and may bring you great wealth. But it will always be a risk for you. The authorities will not protect you, and my people may try again to take your land." Zorro told them.

"The spirits provide for us!" The old woman uttered. "We have no use for rocks!"

"In that case, my friends, I believe the best would be to blow up the cave, burry that gold under a pile of rocks, and make sure that it never resurfaces again."

"Will we be safe if we do as you say, Black Fox?" The woman asked.

"You have a chance to be. But blowing up the cave is just part of what needs to be done right now. I will also need to find the man who ordered the attack and convince him, and any cohorts he may have that there is no gold here. Then, it will be up to you to convince any other who might venture here, that there is no treasure to be found on your lands. I must leave now, but I will return at dawn. Meanwhile, you need to search and gather all the golden rocks in the ravine… at least, those on your land. It will be a laborious endeavor, but you must make sure no rock large enough to be spotted remains."

Taking his goodbyes again from the tribe, Zorro decided to return home.

Don Pablo Calar had only recently moved to Los Angeles, buying a hacienda situated some 4 miles east of the pueblo. Don Alejandro had taken an instant dislike of the man, finding him to be a disagreeable individual and was a renowned gambler. The most recent rumors around town, at least if Sergeant Mendoza was to be believed, were that he was desperately indebted and on the verge of losing his land.

Zorro arrived back at the cave a little after 3 p.m. to find Felipe waiting for him there, signaling that his father had been back a few hours and was looking for him.

"Have you told him that I am working on an article?" He asked his son.

Felipe gestured that Don Alejandro had returned excited from his morning adventure and wanted to share the story with his son, convinced it would make a fine editorial piece for the next issue of The Guardian. Diego was already feeling sore from the ride and quite tired, so he considered that it was not a bad idea to rest for a few hours while having a late meal and listen to his father's version of events.

"I do need to eat." He decided as he already started changing his clothes, then sat at his desk and wrote a note. "Have you already had lunch, Felipe?" He asked and his son confirmed "You have? In that case, I will need you to ride to San Pedro, to my provider, and take him this note. Then get back with as many rocks as he can find."

Felipe took the note, exited through the library, and, mounting Pinto, made his way towards San Pedro.

Meanwhile, Diego mounted Esperanza and returned to the hacienda where his father was waiting for him impatiently. He ate while listening to Don Alejandro's account of the morning's events, and retired to his room for siesta, patiently waiting for his son's return, and reviewing the plan in his head.

Two hours later, after a short nap, he started to grow impatient and decided to return to the cave, first making sure to let Maria know that he was heading for town to work on his latest article.

Felipe returned to the cave around 7 p.m. with a bag filled with shiny golden rocks. Diego took a look at them and complimented the young man.

"These will do just fine." He exclaimed, choosing some of the rocks to take with him before changing his clothes and altering them a little by pilling off some of their edges. "I will be heading to Don Pablo Calar's Hacienda. He is the man behind all this. I should be back in an hour or two." He informed the younger man, then mounted Tornado and left for the mentioned destination.

The Calar hacienda was in a deplorable state. The don was no longer able to afford servants, and the house was filthy and filled with garbage. Zorro made his way in, and found the place deserted. He took a look around, and begun searching for the gold stones he was sure to find there. It took him a lot of patience and time, only finding two small gold rocks an hour and a half later, when it was already dark. He took the stones and replaced them with two of the ones he had chosen earlier. They were about the same size and shape but, instead of gold, the new stones were pyrite. Retrieving the gold, he made his way out and left for his hacienda where he put on his suit, took a small money bag from his private safe, and left for Los Angeles.

Entering the tavern, he noticed that the place was buzzing. Mendoza was standing at a table right in the middle of the room, regaling everyone with the tale of his bravery while most people seemed fascinated to listen to him. He searched the room and found Don Pablo sitting at Don Alejandro's table, trying to convince his father to join him in a high-stakes game of poker.

Thank God my father is not that kind of a man. He thought as he directed towards them.

"Father! Don Pablo!" He greeted. "I see the Sergeant is sharing his story with everyone who would listen!"

"Whether we want to or not! If you are to believe him, the Sergeant took out 50 bandits all by himself!" Victoria mentioned as she neared the table holding a pitcher of orange juice. "I am glad to see you, Diego! Are you here for dinner?"

"Victoria!" He smiled, allowing himself to daydream about holding the woman he loved for some seconds, then recomposing himself. "Of course, I came for dinner! What would you recommend?"

"I have a wonderful tortilla. You told me you used to eat it a lot in Spain, so I decided to try it. It has been the success of the evening!" Victoria told him.

"Sounds perfect." He agreed.

"Don Diego!" Don Pablo decided to tempt his luck. "Do you play cards?"

"The Sergeant did teach me to play poker once but I am afraid I am not very good at it." Diego lied, having learned the game in university, where he became quite a master at it.

"Why don't we test that, shall we?" Don Pablo replied with some enthusiasm, convinced he might finally find an opponent.

After the day he had, waking up convinced he was going to become rich soon by getting his hands on a fortune in gold, only to find out that Zorro had destroyed his plans with the help of Mendoza and Don Alejandro, Don Pablo was looking forward to relieving the De la Vegas of some of their money, as a temporary pay-back. He believed that, if he played his cards right, he might even win a small fortune from the gullible Don Diego.

"Why not?" The tall caballero replied, much to his father's surprise." As long as it is an amiable game… Victoria does not allow gambling here."

"Of course, Don Diego!"

The first two games were won by Don Pablo who seemed to be schooling his opponent. Diego had little difficulty in reading his facial expressions, and soon discovered how to tell that the man was bluffing. When he easily won the next five games, he was sure that he was being allowed to win. As the evening progressed, Don Alejandro left their table to sit with some of his friends, and Diego decided it was time to set his trap.

"I must say, Don Pablo, it is a shame we cannot play for money. I would win a fortune from you." He taunted.

"Then why don't we, Don Diego? As long as Senorita Escalante doesn't know, she can't throw us out!" Don Pablo replied, trying to seem funny.

"Are you willing to bet money, Don Pablo?" Diego asked.

"Why not?"

"100 pesos to open?" Suggested Diego, seemingly bored.

Don Pablo only had a hundred pesos on him. Those were, in fact, all the money he had left, but he decided that the young caballero before him didn't stand a chance, so he agreed. The cards were dealt and Diego realized his opponent must have had a good hand.

"200 pesos in." Diego stated and the man watched him in awe.

"200 pesos, Don Diego? A...Are you sure? Th...that is a lot of money." He stuttered.

"Why not! I can afford it!" He assured the man before him.

"Can I see the money first?" He asked.

"Of course!" Diego answered with an innocent smile, and took out the money bag, showing him the gold coins inside.

"Do you always go around with so much money, Don Diego?" Don Pablo wondered.

"Of course not! I just so happen to have this money left from my visit to the port yesterday. I forgot to leave it at home." He lied, but Don Pablo believed him, thinking the man had too much money and couldn't care less if he lost it.

"I call!" The don took the bait.

"What do you have, Don Pablo? You seem rather confident." Diego asked, and the man showed his cards. "Well, senor, I call myself defeated." Diego had a better hand but pretended to have lost.

Happy with the unexpected change of fate, Don Pablo reached for Diego's money bag.

"Not so fast, Senor! You may have the better hand, but I have yet to see your money."

"But… I have already won!" Don Pablo protested.

"True, senor, but only if you prove you had the money to equal my bet." Diego clarified.

"I am a caballero, you don't imagine I would fail to..."

"Excuse me, Don Pablo, I don't mean any disrespect," Diego interrupted "but, since you asked me to prove I had the money, I believe you owe me the same courtesy."

"I don't have the money on me!" He admitted. "But if you wait for half an hour, I can go to the hacienda and bring you something better!" He said and, when Diego agreed, stormed out of the tavern.

Diego invited the Sergeant to join him as he sat there waiting, buying a bottle of wine for his friend. During their discussion, he made a point of informing Mendoza about the bet, and begged him not to reveal to his father that he had gambled a total of 300 pesos and, to all appearances, lost.

Don Pablo returned from his hacienda about half an hour later, all sweaty from the ride, causing most of the people present to stop their conversations, and turn towards him. Returning to Diego's table, he took a rock out of his pocket, and put it in front of Diego.

"The money, now, Senor!" He asked with some impertinence.

Diego took the rock and looked at it with some curiosity, appearing to study it.

"It is a fine piece indeed, Don Pablo, but I am afraid it is hardly worth 5 pesos. How will you cover the rest of the money?" He asked, disguising his satisfaction with the easy way in which his adversary had fallen into his trap.

"Five pesos? It is gold, Don Diego! It is worth at least 500." He contradicted.

"Gold?" Diego answered with some amusement. "Don Pablo, whoever sold this to you deceived you. This is, without a doubt, a fine specimen of pyrite – fools' gold."

Don Pablo's face became red as his anger started rising.

"You are the fool, Senor! I found that piece myself. I know gold when I see it!" He screamed.

"May I see that as well?" Don Emilio, who was sat at a nearby table, requested, and Diego handed it to him.

"I am afraid Don Diego is right, my friend!" He concluded after studying the piece. "It is, without a doubt, pyrite!"

Other dons came to study the rock and also agreed, leaving Don Pablo to crash into his chair, trembling.

"No! It is gold!" He shouted "This is a conspiracy! I found the rock myself near that Indian village!"

"What Indian village?" Don Alejandro asked suspiciously.

Don Pablo did not answer but looked scared towards Mendoza.

"You are behind the attack, aren't you?" Don Alejandro accused him, and Diego was grateful at his father for making his job easier, having previously thought that he would need to chase Don Pablo and tie him up, an activity that would have taken a few hours, at least.

"What are you talking about?" Don Pablo retorted, visibly shaken. "I...I don't know of any attack!". His obvious lie – since the entire pueblo knew about it by that time – only managed to stir up more suspicion.

"Sergeant!" Don Alejandro called, more and more convinced his intuition was right. "I believe you might want to ask Don Pablo a few questions as to his involvement with the men from this morning."

Silence overcame the tavern before Don Pablo, finding himself surrounded, panicked and decided to flee. He headed towards the door, knocking over anyone in his way, but he was blocked by some of the lancers sat next to the entrance.

"Diego!" Don Alejandro admonished while Don Pablo was safely escorted towards the jail "Gambling? What were you thinking, Son?"

"He wasn't!" Victoria stated upset at her friend. "I am so disappointed in you, Diego!"

"Well, I have learned my lesson! I promise to never do that again! One clearly cannot trust anybody these days!" He apologized, his face betraying some amusement.


	13. January 24th, 1821

The first ray of the morning sun caressed his tired face, and gave him the strength to carry on with the day's mission. He was again riding towards the Indian settlement but, this time, he was not riding to defend them from an impending attack, but to help them prevent any future ones. As the Sun began rising on the horizon, right in front of him, he steered Tornado up a hill and stopped to admire the view. It was the beginning of a new day, one he had, just yesterday, feared would never come. He smiled admiring that chess game between the sunlight and the night's shadows. So predictable! He thought. Every morning the light would win in a fast offensive, only to lose the game in the evening. So beautiful, nonetheless.

He was grateful for that new day. He was certainly grateful to see the sunrise again after all that time. For a few moments, he regretted not having taken his brushes and a canvas with him, but suddenly reminded himself that he needed to move on as he was running out of time.

Don Pablo's arrest and eventual confession was the newest piece of gossip in Los Angeles. After an hour behind bars, probably remorseful for his actions, he told De Soto that he had contracted the armed men, but insisted that he did not know that they were planning to kill the Indians. He also insisted that he had found gold on their land, telling him that the original nuggets had somehow been replaced with pyrites. De Soto was considering believing him, or, at least, finding out the truth for himself.

Trying to get information about the man's confession, Zorro had overheard Mendoza complaining about a new patrol due to depart early in the morning, under De Soto's leadership, towards the Indian settlement.

Given the circumstances, he knew that the faster he would get there, the better chances he had to make sure the lancers found nothing indicating the presence of gold on that land. Closing in on the village, he noticed that the people were already awake, waiting for him to arrive.

"Have you done as I counseled?" He asked as soon as he dismounted, while proceeding in reaching for a barrel of gunpowder and the sack filled with pyrites Tornado had been carrying there.

The old woman showed him a small basket filled with gold nuggets. The largest of them was almost as big as a child's fist, the smallest barely larger than a nail. All shone bright in the sunlight.

"I see you have done a good job!" He smiled satisfied. "Now, let's see if we can do just as good a job at making sure to seal their source!"

He took the gunpowder and, asking them to bring as many blankets as they had with them, headed towards the cave. When they arrived, Zorro instructed the women to carefully cover the ground around it with the blankets, then tested to see if there was water inside. Reasonably sure that the water level, which was present, was low enough, he positioned the gunpowder and, after everyone had cleared the area, he lightened a small fuse, blowing up the cave. The debris was caught on the blankets and, after checking there was no gold among them, they were discarded up the stream. Satisfied that nothing on the ground indicated the explosion, he proceeded to hand down the pieces of pyrite he had brought with him, in order to be scattered around. Some of the nicest pieces he kept for the leaders to show any future intruder in search of gold.

"Take it!" The old woman asked him as he was mounting Tornado, preparing to return to the hacienda. He looked at her and saw that she was holding the basket filled with gold. He considered advising them to bury it and keep it in case they needed to buy essentials from the colonists but, before uttering a word, he changed his mind, reached for the basket, and poured its contents into the sack in which he had brought the pyrite.

"There is something more you might want to do!" He said just before departing. "The soldiers are due to return here soon. It will be a party of 16 in total and they are led by a man with white hair and beard."

The people exchanged confused looks. They were thankful for the lancers' intervention, but they did not trust them, least of all, understand the reason for their sudden return.

"The man with white hair comes in search of the gold." He continued as they were becoming agitated. "You will have to show him some of the pieces of pyrite I have left you. Gift a few of them to the lancers you recognize, as a sign of gratitude for their help. If they show themselves interested, lead them to the stream, in the area where the pieces of pyrite are scattered. „As soon as he finished, another idea came to him. "Perhaps you should also do something else." He advised as a wicked smile brightened his face "Due to an incident from a while ago, the man with white hair believes that your people may have some kind of magical powers. Therefore, for him to leave you alone, you must convince him that you really do have magic." At this point, Zorro paused contemplating the irony of his affirmations. "To do that, you need to prepare a feast for them and place 16 blankets for the men to sit on. Then, since none of them speaks your language, whatever the man with the white hair says, just answer 'Francisca said you come. Spirits see you.' " Zorro spoke the words in Spanish and helped the old woman memorize them, as he tried to imagine De Soto's reaction at his plan. Too bad I cannot stay and watch. He thought.

He departed after saying his goodbyes, heading south, in order to avoid an encounter with the patrol, then, after a few miles, turned west and headed home.

Felipe was waiting in the cave for him and was puzzled to see his father bringing home all that gold. He stared at the rocks for a minute, studying them, then he signed, asking Diego why had he not left them with the Indians.

"I thought about doing that." He answered. "But I realized it was dangerous for them to have it."

Felipe asked what he was going to do with the gold.

"I thought we might use it in some of our experiments." Diego indicated as he was changing his clothes. "Before that, though, I need to measure it and find out how much it is worth. Those people may have little use for the gold but they do have use for money and for what that money can buy. You did not imagine I would take it without compensating them, did you?" He asked with a kind smile on his face, and Felipe grinned back at him.

It was a little after 10 a.m. when he entered the patio, finding his father relaxing, reading one of the new books. One Diego had already read about 3 times during that strange loop.

"Good morning, Diego!" Don Alejandro greeted him.

"Good morning, Father!" He answered with a yawn.

"I was waiting for you, son! We need to have a serious conversation about this gambling issue!" He stated.

"You needn't worry about it! I have certainly learned my lesson!" He answered with amusement.

"I see you are still not taking this seriously!" Don Alejandro frowned at him. "But it is! I have seen many men lose everything due to such addiction. You must promise me that you will never do it again, Diego!"

"Father, I am not a gambler, you know me better than that!" The younger man underlined with some annoyance.

"I thought I did, Son! But if you are not a gambler, why did you play? You could have lost 300 pesos from what I heard! What were you doing with that kind of money on you, anyway?"

Diego looked at his father who was, by now, fuming. Telling him he was setting a trap was rather tempting, but he knew it was too early to give the old don any clues as to his secret identity and recent experiences had underlined that his father would not be able to keep it a secret for too long.

"I was actually working on an article on that subject, Father." He answered, doing his best to sound convincing. "I had recently read a study on addictions and was wondering why people gamble. Since Don Pablo was a renowned gambler, I decided to test my theories on him." He answered.

"Test your theories, Diego? Couldn't you gamble a smaller sum to do that?"

"The higher the stake..." He pointed out.

"The bigger the reward..." His father completed. "So you are not a gambler?"

"Hardly!" Diego answered, and his father seemed satisfied.

"In that case, I am looking forward to reading your article."

"Well, with all that has happened yesterday, I have meanwhile decided to integrated it into the account regarding the attack on the Indian tribe" Diego informed Don Alejandro. "It will be in today's edition of The Guardian. Speaking of which, I should get going!" Finishing the third coffee of the morning, he headed for the library to ask Felipe to accompany him to town.

He was feeling exhausted after an almost sleepless night, so he hurried to finalize the editing and, with Felipe's help, printed 100 copies of the paper which took less than half an hour to sell. The main article, referring to the attack, highlighted, just as he had told Don Alejandro, the perils of gambling, and how men can become ruthless and misguided when losing their fortune in such a way. It also pointed out that what Don Pablo had thought to be gold on the Indian land, proved to be nothing more than pyrite and, thus, basically worthless.

By the time they were finished, it was mid-afternoon and Victoria had just opened after siesta.

"Buenas tardes, Victoria!" He greeted her at entering the almost-empty tavern.

"Diego!" She answered with a huge smile. "I am so happy to see you! I wanted to apologize for last evening. Don Alejandro explained to me earlier that you were working on a story. I should have known you were up to something!"

He could hardly hide his surprise at her words as he looked intently in her eyes. I should marry her again soon! He thought.

"Diego?" She asked blushing under his intense stare.

"I am sorry, Victoria" He said after shaking himself up. "I think I am rather tired. You wouldn't happen to have a room available for a friend, would you?"

"You certainly do look like you need a nap! Working through siesta must be tiring!" She teased him.

"You have no idea!"

"I don't have any room available, unfortunately, but you can use mine, and I will wake you up later for dinner!"

"Use your room? Are you certain about that?"

"Of course, Diego! You are my friend, and I am not using it right now. I will ask Pilar to take you upstairs, just to avoid any gossip." She decided. "You certainly look exhausted!"

"I am. And I do appreciate it. Please wake me up when my father arrives. He should meet me and Felipe here for dinner."

"I will do that!" She confirmed.

He climbed the stairs under Pilar's amused gaze and collapsed on the bed, letting her close the door.

Some 2 hours later, when Don Alejandro arrived, Victoria told him Diego was sleeping in her room, at which information both he and his friend, Don Emilio laughed heartedly, joking that, at least, the young caballero got into a woman's bed. Victoria frowned at their comments, and they apologized.

As Diego requested, she made her way upstairs and entered her bedroom. At that point, Diego was fast asleep, folded in a fetal position, and it took Victoria a few minutes to decide to wake him up. Somehow she found it natural for him to be sleeping in her bed, and just stared at him wondering why. Next thing she knew, she sat down and reached to kiss his lips, stopping short before touching them, when she realized what she was doing. Coming out of her reverie, she put her right arm on his shoulder, and shook him gently.

"Diego! Diego!" She called in a low, soothing voice. "Your father is here!"

"Victoria!" He answered, taking a deep breath as he woke up. "Thank you. Please tell him I will be right with him."

She smiled and nodded, then left the room, wondering why she had almost kissed her friend. When he was asleep nonetheless, and couldn't even react! I must be missing Zorro too much! She told herself as she was entering the kitchen.

"Oh! Here you are, Son!" Don Alejandro exclaimed at seeing Diego, half-awake, climbing down the stairs.

"Here I am, Father!" He confirmed, sitting next to Felipe at Don Alejandro's table.

"I was just discussing your editorial with Emilio. You did an excellent job!" He congratulated him.

"That is true, Diego! You are quite a writer!" Don Emilio confirmed.

"I just put the story on paper, Don Emilio. It is my father who actually lived through it. I am very proud of you and your men, if I haven't already mentioned that, Father!" Diego answered.

"Thank you, Son! I must say, it was rather thrilling!" He answered with a proud smile. "We both did our parts, didn't we? Even if you are not a man of action, this paper of yours does a great service to the community, and I am also proud of you, for that!"

Diego smiled and wondered if he would ever get used to being complemented by his father.

"Do you know where the good Sergeant is?" Diego asked, noticing there was no lancer in the tavern, which was rather unusual.

"I believe he and his men are all in the cuartel!" Don Emilio answered with some amusement in his voice.

"Yes… Apparently, De Soto wanted to check out for himself if there was any truth to Don Pablo's claim to have found gold near the Indian camp." Don Alejandro chuckled. "I don't know what happened, but they did not talk to anyone since they've returned, in a very distraught state, this afternoon. De Soto was white as a ghost! You should have seen him. The look on the man's face! I tell you, Diego, it was priceless!"

The tall caballeor tried to hide a smile, and faked an interested concern.

"You know, Father, I have been thinking!" He uttered after they finished their meals while talking about the events of the previous day. "Maybe we could do more for those people! Perhaps take them some provisions and necessities: clothes, blankets, pottery." He suggested.

"That is a very good idea!" Don Alejandro confirmed. "They are quite poor and there were a lot of small children in the village. Yes! Very good idea, Son!"

"What idea?" Victoria questioned as she came to clean up the table.

"Diego suggested we should help the Indians with some necessities." Don Emilio informed her.

"That is a good idea! I am sure there is much we could do for them!" She answered. "I, for one, would certainly want to contribute!"

"You are very generous, Victoria!" Diego complimented her, and she offered him a loving smile back.

ZZZ

News about Diego's initiative spread fast throughout the pueblo. It was not the first time the citizens of Los Angeles decided to donate some of their things to help the natives and, sooner than expected, three wagons filled with supplies, varying from grains and beans to metal cooking utensils, clothes and blankets, were ready to head east, towards the village. De Soto and the lancers refused to accompany the small caravan, neither one of them willing to return to the Indian settlement too soon, a fact which confirmed to Diego that his plan had worked.

Don Emilio and three of his tenants, Don Alejandro, two of his vaqueros, Diego, Victoria, Felipe and Doctor Hernandez – who was mainly interested to see if he might find some new Indian remedy but also willing to help if the natives needed him -, headed for the tribe in the early morning, a few days after the attack.

It took them a little more than four hours to reach the settlement, and were met with joy as the inhabitants recognized Don Alejandro and his vaqueros as some of those who had saved them. They were also happy to receive the unexpected gifts, which they accepted with undisguised enthusiasm. The old woman looked at them with interest for a while, standing in front of her tent, and Diego did not miss her stare. While his father and the other Angelinos were doing their best to have mostly sign-based conversations with the tribe leaders, she made her way towards him and smiled at seeing his face.

"Kaweewesh!" She uttered as she recognized him.

Diego grinned as he was expecting to be recognized. They were behind some tents, and he made sure they were not being watched.

"Diego!" He replied hoping the woman understood.

"Diego!" She confirmed.

He headed towards one of the wagons and, making sure no-one was looking his way, took out a box from a secret compartment and brought it to her.

"These are Spanish pesos." He said in Togva, offering her the box. "They will help you buy the things you need. I offer them in exchange for your gold."

The woman took the box and opened it. She had seen such pieces of metal before since they had, every few years, traded in the nearby Spanish settlements, but never had she seen so many of them in one place.

"There are 5232 pesos there. They will help your tribe survive for a long time." Diego told her. "But you should keep them hidden, and only spend small amounts, from time to time!"

The woman smiled at him with gratitude and headed back to her tent from where she watched him attentively the rest of the day.

"Here you are, Diego!" Victoria exclaimed as she came near him with a child in her arms.

"That suits you!" He told her with a big grin.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" She asked, puzzled by the way he was looking around.

"Nothing, really. I was just taking in the sights. Maybe I will paint the village when I return to the hacienda. It is a rather peaceful place, don't you think?"

"You are right, Diego! It is beautiful!" She confirmed.

"Shall we join my father and the others?" He suggested, and she agreed with a nod.

They stayed in the village for several hours, only setting out back to Los Angeles in the afternoon. They shared a meal with the natives, the men showed them their tools and weapons, the women taught Victoria to cook some of their traditional dishes, and Diego and Felipe enjoyed watching children playing. When it was time for them to leave, with Diego further away, talking to Don Alejandro, the old woman went to Victoria and told her something in her language that the young taverness could not understand, then left and returned to her tent.

"The Fox loves you very much!" Doctor Hernandez translated at seeing her inquisitive face.

"What?" She asked him, not sure she understood.

"That is what she said. At least, if my translation is right. I am not an expert in Tongva, but I do know enough to communicate with them." He told her.

"Do you believe she was talking about Zorro?" Victoria asked him with a smile.

"Unless she was referring to some random fox living around here!" The doctor teased her. "Si, Senorita Victoria, I do believe she was talking about your masked man. He was the one who came to their aid, after all."

"Do you think he told her about me?"

"Probably. Maybe the Spirits told her, who knows? These people live under different rules than us!" He concluded, gathering his medical equipment and heading back to the wagon, but not before noticing Diego looking in the direction of the old woman, now standing in front of her tent, a grateful smile shining on her face as she looked back at him.

Doctor Hernandez spent the voyage to Los Angeles thinking about the words he had translated for Victoria. He rationalized that they had, probably, offered Zorro marriage with one of the young women of the tribe, and he had to decline – as he did once before – by confessing his undying love for the young tavern owner. What the doctor failed to understand, however, was how the old woman knew it was Senorita Escalante who their masked hero was in love with. How could she know her face, if she had never before visited the village?

Pondering on that, a bump in the rode made him look up. As he glanced towards the wagon in front of his, at Diego and Victoria, it dawned on him: Diego de la Vega was Zorro.


End file.
